Neverlost
by Guytar's Ukulady
Summary: "I remember kissing you and thinking in my head - scheming up a way to bring you a little closer. I wanted to dominate you, to own you. I never wanted to just BE with you, BEING implies a sense temporality - it's existing right now, just as is. I wanted you forever."
1. Chapter 1

Isn't it curiously funny how a person can be so fearing of another? It's as if we were not all comprised of the same things. The same fear, the same weakness, the same organs thriving and pulsing with blood. Life is hanging listlessly on a string – for all people, not just for some. One day, each being that inhabits the planet will expire. Each unborn entity is deserving of the same fate for we all entertain the same sin.

"He's handsome." Ino smiled, holding her face with her hand whilst she sat amongst her associates at their common picnic table.

"He's dreamy." Sakura nudged her accolade in certain agreement.

"He's… strange." Hinata furrowed her brow as she followed her friends in observing the Uchiha from afar.

Sakura and Ino turned to her with a special aura of distain.

"He's strange?" Sakura huffed. "I say, the strange one is y-"

"We're all a little strange." Ino smiled. "But strange is good."

Hinata rolled that idea over in her head for a moment before nodding, "Strange is good."

"Alright then, strangers. I'll just see my way home." Sakura sat up, grabbing her pink reusable lunch pail from the distressed wooden picnic table and pulling on her fuchsia jacket.

"Oh, leaving so soon, are we?" Ino teased bitterly. "I was just getting used to the smell."

"Oh, shove it, Yamanaka." Sakura stuck her tongue out.

"Lighten up, Pinkie." Ino chortled. She rose up alongside Sakura with a knowing grin. "I'll even walk you to your lair – I mean – house."

"You live in a port-a-potty!" Sakura teased.

Hinata smiled lovingly. She had grown so sweetly attached to the argumentative pair in the last three years. She never thought herself to be capable of such – finding another person so genuinely irreplaceable. Of course, she let this way of human compassion follow her in everything she did and it wasn't very difficult for her to empathetically find someone to be precious, temporarily or otherwise. Lately she'd learned to turn the other way at the sight of tragedy. And that was fine, she thought. Others did the same. They systematically disregarded scenes that were simply too hard to look at. Is there any other way to live? It wasn't that though – not at all. It was conceiving the idea that someone loved her in the way that she loved them. That was the hardest thing for her to grasp. In the end, it didn't matter as much. It never did. She had been conveniently placed in their company and she would never complain about not being alone.

"Bye, Hina!" Ino smiled sweetly and waved as the pair walked away in sync.

Hinata smiled. She admired their friendship. Though Ino and Sakura were constantly at one another's throats, Hinata was curious to know if that was true friendship. With the glamorous way she saw it, she knew that it was.

"Bye." She whispered to herself as she sat, fiddling with her fingers. In the distance, Sakura and Ino walked into the horizon – nearly hand-in-hand. On the other end, Sasuke Uchiha fought brilliantly with a tree, well, perhaps not so brilliantly. The tree was certainly winning.

She could not understand why the boy tried so desperately to defeat the tree. What were his intentions? What did he expect to happen by kicking it so half-heartedly? He was him after all. Had he wanted to take the tree down, he could have and would have. Yet, that wasn't the case. Here he was, just kicking the tree with no consequence or reward for doing so.

"It's rooted to the ground." Hinata said quietly to herself as she watched him.

The young, swift-bodied boy had become so much since their trials in the academy. He no longer associated with the people he once considered to be friends. Hinata doubted that he ever did. Instead, he went about town living amongst the citizens whilst simultaneously being emotionally and mentally unavailable. He was neglecting of others. He focused more on himself than any other person. How could anyone blame him? A person can only be broken so many times.

And those girls – those ditsy, bubbly girls – they worshipped his entity. Still. They still recognized him to be superior to everyone else, they still believed that there was a shadow of a possibility that they may one day "be" with him. Although, it was clear that there was no chance. He didn't need them, much less anyone else. Hinata herself found him to be… terrifying. He was the type of person a young child has nightmares about. Not someone she found it difficult to be around so long as she was surrounded by people. The thought of his capabilities, of his past, of his thoughts and words and ideas; they struck her so jarringly that it petrified her to stare any longer.

She quickly ejected herself from her spot on the picnic table and quickly shuffled away, off down the street towards home.

"That boy has gone a bit left, if you know what I mean." Hiashi said smugly as he delicately drew a slim morsel of roasted duck off of his silver-plated fork.

"I don't think so." Hanabi shrugged. "He's a good ninja."

"No doubt, he's a good warrior." Hiashi nodded.

Hinata sighed. The scene replayed once more. Here they sat, the three remaining in their broken family, having a mundane dinner. Another mundane dinner.

"How is your duck, Hinata?" Hiashi gestured towards his oldest daughter, who sat directly to his right, Hanabi to his left. "Mine is a bit charred."

Cold as he was, Hiashi could almost be construed as "normal" under any naked eye. He was a regular father – or so he appeared to be, when he wasn't in a state of unadulterated anger. What baffled most was how he could so easily come off as average, yet knowingly be so bitter and manipulative. It was as if he found his off nature to be a common trait of every good, normal father. Hinata had learned that, so long as she kept quiet, Hiashi would remain the calm undefined individual she preferred.

"It's fine." She barely peeped.

"What do you think of the Uchiha boy, Hinata?" Hiashi asked conversationally as he closely observed the condition of the questionable portion of duck breast on his plate.

"I don't very much know of him." Hinata answered with a deep sigh as her mind returned to earlier that day.

"Were you not in the academy together?"

"I suppose we were." Hinata said, still deeply consumed in her memories. "Though, we were never friends."

"Of course you wouldn't be. I mean, he's a killer." Hanabi laughed snobbishly. "You're a weakling."

Words of that nature no longer stung for Hinata. She was older now, stronger. She had nothing to prove. She no longer desired to be seen as "worthy" in the eyes of anyone. To a degree, she understood quite well that it was listless and morbid for her to have no desire for betterment. Though, she tends to think too deeply into everyday mundane dinners.

"You've got much training to do, Hanabi." Hiashi nonchalantly said to Hanabi. That was his mode of discipline, more training. Hinata was glad to be past that part of her life. She was sixteen and too far gone to ever live up to Haiti's inflated expectations. "Hinata, if you're not going to eat your food then I will."

Hinata surrendered her porcelain plate as Hiashi stealthily pulled it over in front of him. She wasn't eating it anyway. "Does that mean I am dismissed?" Hinata meekly asked.

Hiashi said nothing but nodded as he gracelessly piled green peas into his mouth.

"Me too?" Hanabi grinned, almost beaming up.

"Not you." Hiashi answered promptly.

Hanabi frowned, dissolving back into the pile of mass in her seat.

Hinata almost smiled. Almost. Yet again she was faced with a group of individuals who she had unwillingly been born into associating with daily. And she let this happen. It no longer tortured her in incomprehensible ways to be in Hiashi's presence. Hanabi was no longer going to great lengths to surpass her. She tried, just not as hard. They were bearable she supposed. Just barely bearable.

On a night like this she disappeared into her room. The farthest room down the hall, on the left. That is where she dreamt of things far away. That is where she sat and wrote for hours at a time, every thought that crossed her mind. She escaped from her father, her sister, her mother and incomplete memories within the darkness of her domain.

She exhaled as she came up upon it. The dim light of her room comforted her in many ways. She was afraid of the dark, but not of her dark. She had created and nurtured this darkness. Her heart had adjusted to her and it had become the norm. Nothing moved everything in its place. Stuffed animals on the bed. Books on the desk. Curtains in the window. Yes, everything was as it had been when she left. It was the place she knew, the world that belonged exclusively to her. It was normal.

"Normal is good." Hinata smiled to herself as her anxiety seemed to disappear into the bleak and lifeless air of her room.

"We're all a little strange… but strange is good."

Hinata sighed. She removed her coat and allowed it to slide effortlessly onto the pearly white carpet of her room.

Just as she had begun to unwind, the phone adjacent to her began chiming slowly. She had broken it when she dropped it during a heated conversation with Ino. Since then, the ringing had been drawn out and significantly quieter.

She reached over and found the receiver, taking it to her face. "Hello." She spoke quietly.

"Hey!"

It was Ino. That happy, unequivocally nonsensical voice could have only belonged to one person.

"Hi there." Hinata half-laughed simply due to the fact that Ino was unnecessarily cheery at every moment she could afford.

"What goes on, Hina?" She chirped over the phone.

Hinata furrowed her brow, slightly annoyed with the way Ino seemed to call at the worst of times having nothing to say.

"I was just about to go to sleep." Hinata replied, somewhat hinting something. What, she wasn't sure yet.

"Oh – SAME!" Ino laughed. Hinata exhaled. This wouldn't end easily. "BUT – I just wanted to check in because you went totally MIA after lunch today."

Hinata smiled, someone cared. "Did I?" She indulged a bit in her friend's concern. Partly because she wanted to reveal the motive of Ino's call and partly because she hadn't been aware that she went "missing" earlier.

"Yeah, I came back to sit with you and you were gone! It was, like, ghostly or something." Ino rambled on.

Hinata blushed. She imagined telling her why she had left, because she got spooked by the idea of being so close to Sasuke alone. What could he possibly do to her? Well… everything.

"I just got a little tired." Hinata said finally after a long pause from her and a long stream of general consciousness from Ino.

"Oh well, that's all fine but I'm just saying." Ino went on.

At that moment, Hinata's blood froze when she was startled by a noise just outside her window. It was like an anvil had just dropped from out of the clouds. She questioned its source for a moment, stepping cautiously closer to her window with the phone in hand.

"Hold on, Ino. I'll call you back." Hinata said gently, ending the call and place the phone on her window sill just before she opened it curiously.

She poked her head out, observing the scene of her backyard. A small patio, trees, trees, trees and more trees. Nothing out of order really, that was until she saw it. A person coiled into an unrecognizable shape on the ground in the distance. Her heart pounded as she automatically assumed the worst. Someone had died right before her eyes.

She pulled on her coat and went straight for the door. She ran down the long hall which led to her domain and on the other side, her living room. Hiashi and Hanabi still sat awkwardly indulging in the fine foods prepared by expert hands. They hadn't even noticed Hinata flying by and out the door. They seemed to be too absorbed in their meals, or their own thoughts – like there was any differentiation.

Outside, the air was cold and it pressed deeply into Hinata's breath as she panted. She turned and lapped around their large complex to find the poor soul she swore she'd seen. For a moment, she thought she'd lost it or that she'd never seen it in the first place as she looked about with no fruit for the effort of her searching.

Then she heard the cry of a man. Her eyes flickered respectively to the source of the cry. A shadow eagerly attempted to force their weight onto a 60-foot oak tree as they tried to pull themselves to a standing position. Hinata quickly sprinted over to the figure, devoid of any thought of who it could be. It could have been an escaped prisoner, a refugee, a serial killer, a robber intending to clean out her entire house. But it wasn't.

It was the Uchiha who she'd thought so distastefully of.

"A-are you… okay?" She questioned shyly. All of her bravery seemed to sink so lowly into the pit of her stomach when she saw his face.

Even at the moment, he was terrifying. He fell onto the ground. Leaves peppered his black hair; his eyes reflected pain and his hands desperately gripped his shin. He didn't bother to answer her question; he merely gritted his teeth and breathed in and out. The basic, the minimum.

"I-is your leg okay?" Hinata stepped back subconsciously. She wanted to help but compromising her life wasn't the best way to do so.

"Get. Away. From. Me." He mumbled through a pained voice.

"I-I t-think your leg might be broken." She managed to force through her lips even as they shook. She glanced up at the trees. It was almost impossible to see the sky above them. Then she glanced back at him. "Did you… did you fall out of that tree?" She felt stupid even asking. How mortifying was that? Who did she think she was even suggesting such a thing? He was the Uchiha prodigy. Fall out of a tree? Him? No.

"Go home." He heaved roughly through gritted teeth as he clenched his shin mercilessly. "There's nothing you can do."

"I am home." She said. She'd lost herself for a moment there. Who did she think she was, talking back that way? She swallowed the lump in her throat as she couldn't help but stand there and wait for him to kill her.

"By go home, I meant leave. Get out of here. Go away. I don't need you here. Get lost." He growled, eyes locked onto hers in the most painful of ways.

Hinata took several slow steps back, her eyes never leaving the scene.

Sasuke glared at her as she moved away. It struck her at that moment, just how fearful he was. He looked like a battered animal. He was crouched in pain, closely watching the movement of a harmless bystander as if they'd worsen his condition.

"What will you do?" She muttered.

"Die here." He grunted in return. He wasn't much for humor.

"You're not hurt that bad." Hinata spoke softly and thoughtfully.

"You wouldn't know." He mumbled in searing pain.

"Byakugan." She merely stated knowingly.

And then there was silence for a moment.

She approached him slowly and cautiously. The humorous thing was, as she came closer, he remained still like a statue. His eyes observed her meticulously as she came closer, knelt down and brushed her hand over the surface of his exposed leg.

Her heart raced and her vision blurred as blood rushed to her face. She wasn't charmingly embarrassed as she usually was. She was nervous, shaking at that. What if he snapped? Her neck, that is. She moved her hand over his leg, applying gentle pressure in certain places and observing his responses. He winced accordingly, glaring at her with a special sort of resentment, the kind of hatred a child feels for the nurse injecting him with a life-saving vaccination.

"It's sprained." She finally said. "Your knee… it's just sprained."

He responded with an uneven grunt.

"You just need to rest it for a moment… apply ice… then maybe a warm towel -"

"What are you, a nurse?" He seethed miserably.

Hinata shivered but managed to recover. She always did.

"T-then y-you just need to rest… t-try to stay off it f-for two weeks at the least." She finally finished, exhaling a great amount.

Then, once again, there was a silence between the two.

Hinata was sure she could hear the unmistakable sound of her own heartbeat. The AV node played a generous tune, so fitting of the situation.

"I'll… I'll just get some ice." Hinata hurried back inside of her home to her ice box. Trekking across the scape of her house, she'd discovered their once-dinner to be adjourned. Hiashi was now gone and Hanabi watched TV lifelessly in their living room. Peace had been restored.

Hinata opened the ice box, retrieved several cubes of ice and tossing them into a hand towel that hung from her kitchen sink. She half expected Sasuke to be gone when she returned.

Unfortunately, there he remained, now reclined on the ground. Hinata came upon his slowly, curious as to why he would stay. So he was in pain? He was also in her backyard, and obviously had no desire for her company.

She sat next to him on the ground and pressed the ice-filled cloth against his knee gently. She could feel the startled movement of Sasuke's leg under her hand. She chuckled inside her head. So he wasn't so cold-blooded after all.

For quite a while she said nothing as her palm rested over the ice that was on his knee. After a while her heartbeat steadied and she began to feel quite comfortable even. Sasuke didn't say a word though Hinata knew he was awake. His eyes were glued to the endless height of trees above him and he breathed in and out audibly in the silent dark of the night.

Finally, she removed the ice carefully, noticing how small droplets of water raced down the Uchiha's leg and entangled themselves in his moist leg hair. "Is that better?" She asked almost silently.

He didn't respond, at least not for some time. She sighed to herself, blinking a few times since it was much later than she'd ordinarily stay up. Yeah, it was reasonable for him to ignore her. Everyone else did.

Then he finally answered, his voice now calm and smoothed over. "What about the heat?" He said.

"Oh yes, the heat." Hinata stood up. "I'll fetch a warm, wet towel. That will help." She said as she went about the same routine as she had before, going in and fetching the necessary tools to heal the boy and returning with an unshakable doubt in her mind that he'd even be there. Yet, once more, there he was laid on the ground in her backyard, not a care in the world.

"It's a bit hot." She warned him as she placed the hot cloth delicately over his knee. He inhaled as it pressed against the flesh of his knee. The pain had dulled and now all that remained was the relentless throbbing of a good time gone wrong.

The mood had changed significantly. She'd barely noticed it. Before, she cowered at his presence. Now, she was nursing him to health lovingly. She shook her head. Not lovingly. It was out of obligation.

"What are you doing here?" She managed to get out after prolonged time contemplating whether or not it would cost her her life.

"Training." He grunted in return. At least he said something.

"Why train with trees?" Hinata questioned. Simultaneously it held a bit of humor as she recalled his battle with a tree earlier that day.

"Why wear a coat all the time? Why s-s-s-stutter so much? Why help strangers? Why ask questions?" Sasuke breathed flames right into the girl's face. It stung harshly on her heart. She said nothing. She deserved that outcome. She prodded too much. She deserved it.

"Sorry." She peeped. "I… I think that's enough now." She said, collecting the two cloths she'd used on him. "You'll be fine in a few days." She said hurriedly make her way back inside.

Sasuke's eyes followed her as she left. He gritted his teeth. She was so repulsive.


	2. Chapter 2

"Oh no, I've got the best color by far." Sakura grinned, stroking her midlength pink hair.

"As if! It's all me!" Ino snickered, fondling her straight tresses carefully.

"Blonde? Really?" Sakura snorted. "Everyone has blonde hair nowadays."

"Except for you… and Hinata, and Shikamaru, and Choji and… most people." Ino went on.

Hinata smiled sweetly, in the way she had before. Oh yes, the lunches were a regular thing – almost as regular as the mundane dinners.

Ino, Sakura and her would gather at a picnic table near the training grounds just about every day. Some days they would watch the boys, others they would gossip about anything viable. It never failed that eventually Ino and Sakura would get into some kind of superiority argument. If it wasn't Sasuke, it was physical attractiveness. If it wasn't physical attractiveness, it was talent. If it wasn't talent, it was hair.

"Why does that even matter, Ino?" Sakura barked.

"It matters because you said everyone has blonde hair nowa-"

"That's not what I said!"

"Yes, it is."

"Arguable."

"No. Not arguable, you said it. I just heard you say it. Hinata just heard you say it."

"Well, that's impossible because I never said it."

Just like that, their ongoing bickering was drowned out into the background when Hinata caught sight of Sasuke Uchiha scaling the trees of the training grounds. He was so high up yet she could spot him from a distance. How did this happen? Perhaps she'd caught on to his aura, or some holistic device of that nature.

Since the night before, her perspective on him had changed. She went to bed and awoke in the morning expecting him to still be reclined in her backyard. A part of her urged her just to check. She did. He was gone. Today, she couldn't pry her mind from thoughts of their strange encounter. There were still so many questions she had in her mind that went unanswered. She didn't expect an answer for them. She simply couldn't find the space in her mind to ponder anything else, which is what disturbed her.

"Hinata, did you hear me say that?" Sakura huffed, slapping Hinata carelessly on the shoulder.

"The thing about everyone being blonde or something?" Hinata mumbled, only half attentive to their problem.

"Oh! I told you!" Ino jumped with a wicked laugh. "So you deserve to be called moronic."

"Shave your legs before you call anyone else a Mormon!" Sakura spat.

"Maybe I'll just go tell Naruto what you said about his you-know-what." Ino teased, slapping Sakura's arm and taking off down the dirt road that led back into town.

Both Sakura and Hinata blushed deeply. Sakura immediately jumped up in haste to catch up with Ino. Hinata sat petrified, desperately wanting to know exactly what was said about what and desperately wanting to mask her clear embarrassment.

"You better not, Ino!" Sakura shrieked as she chased the girl down their path. "Ino!"

That was all Hinata heard before her high-pitched cries faded into the background of another slow afternoon. She sighed, patting her face as her blushing calmed. There was never a dull moment between those two.

"Do those idiots ever shut up?"

Hinata heard a voice behind her sneer in repulsion. She immediately struck her sight up at the sky above the training grounds where she'd last found Sasuke. He was gone. Her blood raged around inside her while her muscles refused any movement. He was behind her.

She turned around slowly and there he sat, perched like a gargoyle. The color drained from her face as she sat mere inches away from the very person whom she secretly wanted so badly to come across again yet whose appearance she dreaded so greatly.

"Are you mute or something?" He scoffed. Hinata winced at his words and the cruel expression that accompanied them.

She shook her head quickly. "N-no… no." She answered unsteadily.

She was wrong, she was very wrong. She didn't want to see him again. She wanted nothing to do with him. He was evil, a menace. She needed to stay as far away from him as possible.

"So you're just stupid?" He said stoically as if the words were bland coming out of his mouth. He spoke as if no one could possibly be offended by what he just said.

"N-no." She shrugged, eyes beginning to outline the ground.

"Defense number one." Sasuke muttered.

Hinata's eyes darted up curiously. What was he talking about? "Defense one?"

"You get nervous and it scares you. So you just stare at the ground. So you can't see what's in front of you." He daunted, almost in a rhythmic fashion. "Just because you can't see it, doesn't mean it's not there."

Hinata flushed. He was making such quick work of her body language. How dare he?

"Then you blush because you're embarrassed to be so vulnerable." He dug into her so gracefully. "It's not a defense really. It's more of a give-away."

Tears began to well up behind her eyes as her breathing was stifled. "W-why? Why are you doing this?" She said through a shaky voice. Her body began to tremble and she could feel the air around her heating up.

"You wear a coat everywhere because you have a poor body image." He struck as if her last questions had no meaning.

"P-please don't." She managed to get through as the tears broke from her eyes.

"You let other people think you're dumb so you won't have the pressure of real responsibility." He said.

"Please don't go on." She begged.

"You'll never be as good as your sister and you're so sure of it, you've simply stopped trying." He said.

"Please stop." She pleaded.

"You hate your hair, you hate your eyes, you think your feet are too big, you think your hands are too small." He said.

"Why are you doing this?" She cried into her palms. He observed carefully the motions of her body, her face, her breathing. She was an insect under an hourglass and he was the cruel scientist. Better yet, he was God.

"Why do you even exist?" He whispered harsh and bitterly into her face.

Hinata broke into sobs. Not a moment more. Not a moment more. Not a moment more.

"I'll go." She sobbed incoherently, wiping the pools of tears from her eyes. She started in the opposite direction of town, the way of the training grounds.

"Stay!" He commanded forcefully.

Hinata dared to peer in his direction for but a moment. His eyes were bloodily fixed on her, his face was emotionless. She sniffled before looking around her. The training grounds, the park, the road to town – devoid of anyone other than herself and him. Where had they all gone? They fled in her time of need, she assumed. Either way, she meekly retook her seat on at the picnic table with her face puffy and her hands trembling.

"Look at me." He ordered.

Without hesitation she looked up at his face. Nothing had changed about it since the last time she checked. His eyes burned into her face and all she could do was sit there, her stomach quaking in fear and her heart racing.

"Say something." He said. "Say something to me."

She blushed again.

What did he want her to say? Her mind wandered in circles. It could mean anything. Anything.

That being said, she spoke and what she said was the only thing she could possibly retrieve from her mind at that moment. "You were supposed to stay off your knee for two weeks."

She stared. And he stared. And after several moments contemplating thoughts of her sure demise, his bitter and lifeless expression reformed into a slanted smile. Hinata finally exhaled though confusion swept her away into the farthest depths of her own brain. She was somewhat relieved and somewhat terrified. So he smiled? That didn't mean he was going to spare her life? He may just be a psychopath.

"So you're not mute." He said with a smirk.

"No." Hinata blushed. "I never was."

"You should talk more." Sasuke said.

Hinata sighed. "I talk enough."

"Coulda fooled me." He said, finally changing his crouched gargoyle position to one of genuine sedation.

"How so?" She quarried.

"You're quiet." He answered.

Hinata rolled it over in her head until she came up with the appropriate response. "I talk enough."

Sasuke chuckled. Yes, chuckled. It was an idea Hinata would never even consider. Truthfully, she was still terrified. However, it was a fear that she had reluctantly begun adapting to incidentally.

"Why?" She pouted. "Why are you questioning me?"

"I'm just teasing you." He stated emotionlessly. Apparently she'd struck a button.

There was silence for a few minutes. This time, they both trailed off and began staring into space rather than at one another.

"D-do you find me… interesting?" Hinata asked modestly. She automatically expected the worst answer though she couldn't help but ask. After all, he was there talking to her. He needed no female to make him feel adequate and even if he did, he could seek that from any woman in Konoha. He was very capable.

"Very."

**Sasuke Uchiha; 18 years old**

**He is quiet, but he really isn't.**

**He is judgmental. He enjoys pointing out the flaws in others. He speculates very much.**

**He trains constantly despite injury.**

**He can somehow be in two places at one time.**

**He finds me interesting.**

Hinata wrote on her notepad that night in her room. She breathed easily after a misty shower. The nerves had melted away and she reminisced deeply in her last encounter with the Uchiha. She still questioned it. Did that actually occur? Did she really hold a conversation with Sasuke Uchiha? It droned on for hours. She didn't know if she was having an extended dream or if he was actually there. For one, no one came that way and everyone seemed to go away for hours during their interaction. On the other hand, if she dreamed it, that could only mean she was still dreaming.

As she threw herself on top of her plushy, pale-pink comforter with a deep and relaxing sigh, she hoped that she would not wake up in the morning to find all of it gone.

To her surprise, it wasn't. Upon her wake she found Sasuke at her windowsill. Their conversation continued from there.

And it continued and it continued. In fact, it went on and on and on for 71 days. In fact, Sasuke spent the entire summer teasing Hinata in pleasurable ways and Hinata spent the entire summer consumed and fascinated by Sasuke.

He appeared at her window in the mornings and sometimes late at night. He trained her and she taught him. They could be seen all around Konoha together on any given day. He fascinated and confused her. She amused and enlightened him. He condemned her suitors and she mocked his followers. They shared 71 days, 72 nights, hundreds of laughs and a kiss. She learned the nature and the lifestyle of a true recluse. He was unreasonably cold to her at times, and unearthly welcoming at others. She feared and revered him.

In fact, she loved him. She loved him pitifully and pathetically though you'd never know it. She didn't. Incidentally, he was devoid of any thought of such a thing. He read into people so well but that was something he had no mind to conclude.

He became attached to her and she became attached to him.

They neither had regrets nor fear for the future.

It was several days after Hinata's birthday that she combed her hair in the vanity in her room. She smiled to herself as the moisture in each strand tickled her fingers when the teeth of the comb slid through. Well, she was really smiling because she was sure Sasuke would visit her that day. He had not been to see her in two days. He often disappeared and returned at his own will. She had grown to accept it and to look forward to his return.

He was her dearest friend. The thought just made her smile all the more. She had a friend. She had a true, forgiving, loving, caring friend who was genuinely interested in her. Someone to listen to her hopeful and fanciful ramblings about Naruto, someone to hold her when she wept, someone to tease her every mannerism. She was there, and so was he.

There it came, the tapping on her window that she'd anticipated all morning. She turned around, beaming with joy. It was him. Hinata was giddy with anticipation. She knelt over and opened the window with all her might, which was a great deal at the moment.

"Hello there, Stranger." She teased lovingly.

Sasuke maneuvered his body inside the girl's room with no response to her playful banter.

Hinata's smile faded slowly as she noticed his attire.

Traditional ninja attire, at that.

She gulped as his body slowly came up. She hadn't realized just how tall he was until he was wearing that. His face was dead, as somber as he appeared to all other people but not her. No, not her. He always bore a mocking smirk when he was around her. Always. Something was different. Hinata feared for the worst.

"I'm going to Suna."

She heard the words yet his mouth didn't move – or at least it didn't move in time to what he said. Her heart was struck. She said nothing, she did nothing. She hoped it was another one of his horrid, cruel jokes but the punch line never came. Nothing did. He said nothing. He didn't even blink. He stared at her as seriously as he had the night they first spoke.

"I… I don't understand." She finally said.

"I'm a ninja." He responded. Apparently there was nothing to understand.

She was still confused. "You're going to… to fight?" She asked as if she had no knowledge of the struggles that currently plagued the village of Suna. She knew things were bad there. She knew all too well. She knew that Konoha had intervened. She did not know that she would lose him in the process.

"Yes." He said blankly with little hesitation.

"Please stay." That's all she could say. "Just stay here, with me." She urged as if it was the obvious answer to his solution.

"I'm the best ninja in Konoha, Hinata." Sasuke said tightly.

"B-but I thought you said… earlier you said that you weren't loyal to Konoha." Hinata began to cry, though she couldn't feel the tears pouring from her eyes at the moment. She was in desperation. Only one thing mattered. She grabbed his wrist tightly. She wouldn't let go.

"I'm not." Sasuke grunted. "It's hard not to be loyal when you don't have a choice in this God-forsaken place."

"Then we can leave... we can leave together, Sasuke." She cried, clenching his arm.

He tore it from her resentfully. "Don't be stupid." He spat. "I told you not to get too attached."

Her heart had broken into pieces right then and there. How could he say that? How could he tell her not to become attached? It was human nature. Did that mean he wasn't attached? She meant nothing to him after all. All of her stray thoughts were right, once again.

"But you've become my closest friend."

That was her last plea. That was all she could offer. Nothing she could say would make him stay. Nothing she could say would matter to him.

"I'm sorry." He said somberly watching her melt with sadness. "One day soon we'll cross paths again if you have a mind not to forget me."

With that, he left. He left in a gust of hair that swept the insides Hinata's room about in a frenzy and did the same to Hinata's heart.


	3. Chapter 3

Hinata held onto his words. She held them close to her heart.

She spent nights at a time recalling each instance of their simultaneous existence. She prayed for an underlying meaning in their meeting – and she waited.

She waited alongside the other civilians of Konoha who had family and friends that were ninja. They spoke amongst each other of rumors and news from the war. She never engaged. She waited patiently. She waited patiently for 381 days.

It was the morning of the 382nd day that Hinata had awoken. She went about her day as she normally would. She bathed, combed her hair in her vanity and went out to tend to her garden. There she was, sitting in a pile of soil as she spread seeds over her chrysanthemums. It was one of the only things that calmed her as of late.

The fall air was wafting and strong. She feared for her flowers as the leaves fell from the trees and they stood tall and naked. But she would never stop gardening. No matter how many peddles dried and fell from her posies, she refused to stop planting more. Hanabi teased her at times for her useless efforts but it never mattered. If she could revive and rebuild things, she had purpose. She had a reason to exist.

Ino had gone and so did Sakura. She was alone once more, much like the days of her youth. Had Hanabi been seven years older, she would have gone as well. Then Hinata would be completely alone. Well, it wouldn't be entirely bad.

"Hinata, oh what a great and joyous day it is." Hinata looked up to find her aunt approaching her. The entire Hyuuga clan habituated the same complex and she was head of it all.

"I'm glad you're feeling so spry." She smiled sincerely for her aunt even as she had no personal reason to be so happy.

"Sweety, you ought to be in a good humor as well." Her aunt beamed.

"And just why is that?" Hinata played along. She had no reason to be so curious. Nothing, and that is a strong _nothing_, could bring her back to the happiness she once knew. Nothing short of…

"Have you not heard?" Her aunt gasped. "The ninja, they're back!"

Hinata dropped her trowel, unable to speak. Her jaw lowered as she sat there in awe. It was unreal. She hadn't felt this unreal feeling in over a year. She stood up slowly and systematically, she was absolutely stunned.

"I'm sorry… but I must go." She said in shock, unable to withstand the powerful grin that worked its way onto her face. She just ran.

She ran without thought. She didn't want to think. She didn't need to think. She ran to the highest point in the village where the gates could be found. All the while, a flurry of thoughts bombarded her head.

It wasn't long before she came upon the gates. Without fail, they were surrounded by people flooding in and out. Her heart raced. She couldn't wait another second to find his face amongst the returning men and women.

When she came closer she began to recognize smiles and cries and even hair. Ino and Sakura went about hugging their parents. Ino's hair was now even longer. Sakura's hair looked even pinker actually. Hinata began to laugh just from the pure hysteria of the moment.

It burst when she felt arms come around her from behind and bring her into a warm, strong embrace. She turned around, hoping it was him. To her surprise, but equal joy, it was none other than Naruto. She could feel her skin begin to burn as she summed up his entire body in a few glances. He was so tall, so muscular, and so very tan. He had become a man. He was 19 years old, no longer the shunned and demeaned boy she loved from afar as a child. He was bigger, better and prouder. All the more reason to worship him.

"Hey there! Long time, no see!" He laughed heartily.

His voice made Hinata blush. It was so deep now, so masculine. She needed a moment. She was given her moment as he disappeared into the crowd of people and was swallowed by hugs and laughter.

That was wonderful, absolutely and truly amazing to her. But Hinata wouldn't be consumed by anything for too long. She would not leave completed until she saw the face of her long departed friend. That was what she really wanted, what she really needed right now.

She pushed through the people, searched for him in every face and figure until she reached the gates. By the time she got there, people had begun to clear out. No one was coming in. She wasn't discouraged. Perhaps he had already been forced into the multitude. She threw herself back into the disorganized jumble of people, trying to find a trace of him anywhere.

She searched up and down. She was in the center of all the chaos for quite a while. Some people began to leave; others remained and celebrated another victory. Despite the movement, she could not detect her boy as far as her vision could go.

She began to ask furiously as she realized just how desperate she was becoming. "Has anyone seen Sasuke?"

Either people shook their heads, said no, or ignored her entirely.

"Has anyone seen Sasuke Uchiha?" She pleaded. It was becoming apparent just how much no one seemed to care that she was struggling there.

Just as she felt completely lost she heard a strong voice chime in over all of the screams and cries of the crowd.

"The mission in Suna was wildly successful. On behalf of the village, I thank the brave ninja who risked their lives to defend our village and villages far away."

A great cheer and clamor erupted from the crowd. Hinata couldn't help but smile just a bit. The mission was a success, the war was over, and therefore Sasuke must be somewhere.

"However," the voice reappeared under a dark tone. "Sasuke Uchiha and all members of his unit have gone missing as of last month. We will be sending a party of our most elite ninja to recover him and his companions."

With that, the voice was gone and a quiet fell upon the crowd of people.

It didn't last very long. In a few minutes they all returned to their previous antics and ranting.

Hinata covered her mouth in pure disbelief and heartbreak. She felt like someone had dropped a ten ton weight onto her chest. The world around her faded into a black obis. He was gone. He was gone just like that and no one seemed to care. No one seemed to care at all.

* * *

"What hurts?" Hinata asked kindly and gently as she softly prodded the leg of a small boy whose mother had taken him to the hospital.

The boy winced in pain. "My leg." He proclaimed.

Hinata smiled. "You've got a little fracture." She smiled, switching off her Byakugan. "It's going to swell quite a bit and it can be very painful."

The boy frowned in dismay.

"You're a very brave boy." Hinata grinned, stroking the child's arm. "The worst is over." She reassured him and the boy's frown disappeared in an instant.

"It is?" he asked.

"Mhmm." She nodded. "I'll tell you what I can do for you. I'll just get you a little cast and you'll need to wear it for two weeks." She said, standing up and somehow trailing into thought. Nowadays, everything she said somehow connected to him.

She missed him. She missed him too much to be standing there with her little white dress, nurse's hat and wagon. But time had gone by so fast it seemed. He never came home. What was she supposed to do? She couldn't possibly wait on him any longer. After all, she meant nothing to him. They shared a silly, meaningless summer and nothing more.

She waited, at first for several days. It was hard. She thought about him every moment of every minute. Each tap at her door, she assumed – or rather hoped – it was him. It never was. It was always a maid, or her father or her annoying sister.

Then she waited for a few months. She figured, Sasuke was the strongest ninja in Konoha, he couldn't be dead. Surely he would return soon. She asked about, tried to tune in to the latest gossip and rumor. When were the missing ninjas going to return? Each lead was false and pushed her deeper into heartache.

After several more months, her heart hardened. She began to forget about Sasuke and occupy herself with other things. She no longer watched for him in the trees or turned up an ear when she heard a knock at her door. She knew he would not be there.

A year later, the search party the village sent returned with no clue as to where Sasuke and his unit had gone. It was assumed that they were either dead or occupying another village far away.

Her father pressured her to marry. She refused. She humored suitor after suitor until Hiashi ceased his speculation. Eventually, she made herself useful by volunteering at the clinic. Her Byakugan gave her a keen sense for finding the ailments in patients. It wasn't long before she was paid a small stipend for her work every now and again. She was happy. She could honestly say that. She was content, satisfied. Usually, the thought of Sasuke never crossed her mind.

It was only recently that his name would appear and reappear in her mind. It was easier to shake off. It meant a little less each time. Instead of weeping over someone who was never really with her, it was easier to believe he never cared for her at all.

She realized she was standing there in the doorway of a check-up room whilst a small boy rolled over in what was probably the most intense pain he'd ever experienced. Hinata had to pull herself together. There was no time to contemplate past relationships in this profession. This child needed her.

Hinata quickly walked down the hall to her right as hospital staff swarmed around her in the opposite direction. She was heading the way of the equipment room where she planned on fetching materials for a cast. It was something she'd done time and time again. It was only today that something was unshakably different. Why was everyone going the opposite way? The hospital was never that busy. Come to think of it, she'd never seen so many doctors and nurses in one hall at one time.

"We need a defibrillator stat!" A doctor ahead of the swarm shouted towards the back. Hinata glanced at him for a moment confused. "Hey! Girl! Defibrillator stat!" The doctor shouted again.

Hinata didn't realize he was talking to her. Out of all the staff in the hall at that exact moment, why was he talking to her? Well, she was standing in the doorway of the equipment room. She rushed inside, instinctively finding the revival bag. She was taught to do so through countless training drills and finally she could use the skill.

She hurried out of the room to find the personnel still swarming like decapitated chickens.

"Everybody make way!" Someone shouted.

Suddenly the sea of bodies seemed to part into two separate sections leaving a path for Hinata to walk through. She hesitated for a moment before realizing she was meant to walk between the hurried and excited physicians.

"Hurry!" The man shouted.

With that she ran down the canyon of people. There was a path made for her by the people on her sides which led to her destination. Her heart pounded nervously and she flushed harshly the entire way. She felt like the least qualified individual there yet she held someone's life within her hands.

When she finally reached the doorway of her presumed predestined point, she was pushed by an anonymous gentleman right into the center of the room. There she was left to cluelessly stare at the six doctors who surrounded a table. She had no time to observe the table at the moment. The room she stood in was remarkably bright. She was nearly blinded by the blazing white overhead lamps that swung back and forth above her.

The doctors looked flushed and frenzies. Several of them were sweating, none of them were wearing gloves or masks, and they were all staring at Hinata. She blushed before meekly handing over the device she held in its reflective yellow bag.

"We've got 4 minutes right now." One doctor said, ribbing the shirt of the man on the table wide open. Hinata was frozen in her place just observing the scene, mostly because she was unable to move and if she did, she knew she'd probably mess everything up. However, she couldn't help but notice the tattered condition of the man's shirt as the doctor ripped it to even smaller shreds.

"That's long enough for brain damage. We've got to do this now." The doctor who took the device from Hinata said hurriedly unzipping the bag in a panic.

"You can't use an AED on an asystole patient." Another doctor said in a shocked manner.

"We already tried CPR. What choice do we have?" The doctor with the bag responded as he set it up in a rush.

"Does he have any brain activity?"

"His blood sugar is dangerously low."

The voices mixed together in Hinata's head. She could no longer concentrate on what went on around her or much of anything else. The lights above her caused sweat to bead on her forehead and she couldn't shake the dizzy feeling that came about her. It was all rushing about her so fast, so fast.

In a second she was down. She hadn't even realized it. She didn't feel her body hit the linoleum floor; she didn't feel her eyes close or her breath get caught in her throat. It just happened.

"Holy shit. Can we get a stretcher in here?!"

"1. 2. 3. Clear."

"Can we get a stretcher in here?! We need a stretcher!"

"1. 2. 3. Clear."

"Are we getting something?! How's that pulse reading?"

"We've got nothing."

"Dammit. 1. 2. 3. Clear."

"Hold on! I've got a pulse!"


	4. Chapter 4

"He literally showed up at the gates all beaten up and bloody, did a war cry and just fell out on the ground."

"I heard he was carrying two of his subordinates on his shoulders."

Hinata's eyes weakly moved around inside her head just before her eyelids struggled to flutter open. She was faced with the ceiling of what was unmistakably the on-call crash room. The lights were dimmed and she laid there in her regular working attire. She sat up slowly, wiping her eyes with one hand and feeling the gross, rigid material of the cot she slept on with the other.

She looked around her. The room was empty and somewhat quiet other than the chatter of two other nurses in the doorway. "What happened?" She murmured to herself as she stood up. She felt rested but drowsy. She smoothed out the skirt part of her uniform dress and ran her palm over her face in confusion.

Then she remembered. How could she not remember another fainting episode?

Hinata sighed. How typical of her to faint in a dire situation like that. Then she remembered even more disappointingly, the little boy she was supposed to treat. That poor guy. She got sidetracked in all of the drama and forgot all about him.

Not knowing how much time had passed since then, Hinata politely pushed past the two nurses and started down the hall where the boy's room was. She remembered he was in 171, well, because… just because.

She poked her head inside to find the room completely vacant with remnants of rapping dangling on the floor. She sighed in shame. Someone else had to do her job for her because she was too consumed with feeling as though she was the center of attention. The entire thing could have been avoided had she not assumed the doctor was asking for her to fetch the revival kit. Even though he was.

Hinata tapped the door post, feeling quite low of herself and made her way up to the front desk of the establishment where she could make it to the exit.

"There's Hinata, let's ask her!"

Hinata turned around to find Sakura and Ino sprinting towards her in unbelievably haste. She automatically raised a brow. Why were Sakura and Ino at the clinic? They never came there. They didn't need to. They were both great ninjas. They had a purpose other than her insignificant workings.

They came up to her, nearly tackling her, and shook her with anticipation. "Where is he?" Sakura cried. "Do you know what happened? What room is he in? When can I visit?"

"Give her some air, dammit." Ino rolled her eyes, pulling Sakura from Hinata's shoulders.

Hinata couldn't be more confused. "What are you talking about?" She asked, literally scratching her head.

"Sasuke!" Sakura yelped, throwing herself onto the shoulders of Hinata once more in a hysterical fit.

Hinata's heart both leaped and sank. Sasuke? Was she insane? Sasuke was long gone and had been for quite some time.

"S-Sasuke?" Hinata questioned in great doubt and trepidation.

"Yes! Sasuke!" Sakura shrieked. "He's here isn't he?! He didn't die did he?!"

Suddenly she got the urge to vomit profusely on her whitewashed shoes.

"I… I don't know what you're saying." Hinata shook with fear.

"Everyone in town is saying Sasuke and his unit have come back." Ino reiterated. "Are you okay, Hina? You're acting kinda funny."

Ino knew Hinata was very close with Sasuke. Unlike the others, Ino didn't overlook the entire summer where the two were basically inseparable. There was no Hinata without Sasuke. She wasn't ignorant and she wouldn't be blinded by assumptions. It was undeniable that after Sasuke was pronounced missing Hinata was more depressed than ever. Of course, Ino would never speak of it openly. It was no one's business but Hinata's and that was that. Ino was a gossip but she wasn't fond of slandering people she knew and cared about – other than Sakura that is.

"I'm fine." Hinata replied promptly without clearly thinking.

"Yeah, they said he came through the gates almost dead and just passed out right there." Sakura mused. "But I heard he's alive and well and I want to see him!"

"That's not quite my jurisdiction." Hinata swallowed, staring at the wall behind Sakura's head just to keep her nervousness and anxiety at bay.

Ino could detect it from a mile away. "Well." She smiled. "That's enough of that. Come on, Sakura." Ino said, grabbing a hold of Sakura's bicep and pulling her away from Hinata.

"Ino!" Sakura shouted. "Let go of me, you hag!"

"_Shhhh_!" Ino hissed. "We're in a hospital!" She whispered, dragging Sakura away and past the glass, sliding doors of the entrance.

3… 2… 1…

They were out of earshot and it was now time for Hinata to completely abandon all rational thought and burst into tears and panic. She gritted her teeth as her eyes flickered around uncontrollably. The world seemed to race around her. Every thought possible was born, lived, and died in her head.

The man in the room with the tattered shirt and the doctors and the swarming and the defibrillator and the CPR. It was all coming together now. All of the thoughts were flying into each other and they were crashing and they were creating an impossible reality that was so very fleeting and beautiful that Hinata refused to believe it.

She rushed over to the front desk. There she knew she'd find a book with a list of names of all the checked in patients. The table was not her domain, she had no business searching through those files but she didn't care at the time. She disregarded all rules and restrictions. She found the book, clad in leather and lined with hemp paper. With no hesitation she opened it, swiftly flipping from page to page with hopes of finding a single name.

Pages flew by and her eyes grazed over each letter, each space, each point made by that godforsaken pen until she found it. She found it, 14th on the list for that morning, 4th to last on the whole page, written in fading black ink, a little loopy with undotted I's. There.

**Sasuke Uchiha – October 10****th**** – Room 428**

She couldn't believe it. She couldn't believe it was real. Now that she had the information, what was she to do? It was useless at the moment. Or was it? How brave was she?

"428. 428. 428. 428. 428. 428. 428." She repeated over and over to herself as she carefully and rapidly scaled each hall. She should have known where that room was but her mind was scattered. She couldn't think of anything really, nothing but seeing him.

It was on the second floor that she spotted the room to the far left. The ICU, how did she not know?

The halls were cleared out probably because she'd been sleeping for hours and the day had faded into night. A janitor walked up and down the hall and an older woman sat half-asleep at the nurse's station. The on-call crash room was crammed with sleepy residents dreading the chime of their beepers.

She wouldn't wait around for anyone to stop her. She floored it and headed straight for the door. Surprisingly, she even opened it without great caution. What was the worst that could happen?

No matter how prepared she was for this, nothing could have prepared her for what she saw.

The man on the bed wasn't Sasuke.

He slept like a vampire. His arms and legs were placed accordingly straight. He faced the ceiling. His body was completely motionless. His skin was white like paste or baking flour. He was tall and muscular but somehow free of any body fat. His hair had paled so that it was no longer a passionate and dismal blue black. It was faded like a black shirt washed one-too-many times, and it was long, so long that strands of it hung from the reclinable bed he slept in. He resembled a corpse prepared for its funeral. He was so still, so motionless that he may as well have been dead.

Hinata was petrified.

Okay, the man on the bed was Sasuke. He was alive to say the least and she could only figure that by the annoying chirp of the EKG in the corner.

"Oh my God." She whispered to herself in disbelief. "Where have you been?"

* * *

The air was becoming crisp and invitingly cold. Hinata appreciated every bit of nature's presents. She opened up the window of her bedroom to invite in the changing weather's graces. It blew her hair softly. She was at peace. For a moment, she was at peace.

It had been several days since she last saw the clinic. The sight of Sasuke wouldn't leave her mind. She couldn't go back. She feared the possibility that she'd come across him in his current state and break apart instantly. She didn't know why it pained her so much to be near him. It was probably because she knew there was nothing she could do for him. She was better off here, at her house with her family who was alive and didn't have to endure years of who knows what.

"You know he's awake right?" Ino said, rocking back and forth in Hinata's pink wooden rocking chair.

Hinata shook her head without even bothering to face the girl she spoke to.

Ino held a certain special concern for Hinata. She watched as her friend grew to be more and more fragile and reclaimed her place in the village as the quiet and reclusive princess. It hurt her as well. Hinata would never know but it hurt Ino very much.

"Do you want to see him?" Ino hinted. "I'll go with you."

Hinata knew that wasn't just a ploy for Ino to go see Sasuke. Ino no longer worshipped the Uchiha prodigy as she once did. She was married to Shikamaru and had a pleasant portion of two years perched under her tight, velvet belt. Hinata was glad she matured. Now it was only Sakura who went off on flights of Uchiha fancy.

"No." Hinata said weakly. "Thank you, Ino."

Ino shrugged. "Suit yourself." She said. "What time is it?"

"10:14." Hinata answered.

"Well, I gotta be at the shop by noon." Ino said getting up from her seat on the rocking chair. "I haven't even showered or anything." She chuckled. "I'll call you, okay?"

"Okay." Hinata responded drearily.

Ino watched her dazed figure hovering over the window. It was so hard to leave but she had to go. "Are you okay, Hina?"

"Yes, Ino. Thank you for your concern." Hinata turned around and pitched Ino another fabricated smile.

"Okay." Ino said after a few moments of question. "Bye."

"Bye."

Then there was only a moment, literally a moment for Hinata to exhale before Ino barged back into her room. Hinata furrowed her brows. She was so tired of Ino hanging around, more so than usual. Ino hadn't left her side in days. She was becoming a bit of a nuisance.

"Hey, Hina?" Ino squawked.

"Yes?" Hinata smiled on top of a cross glare.

"Are you on call?" Ino asked seeming somewhat confused.

"No." Hinata responded then thought about it, deciding to herself that she wasn't.

"Well your beeper is ringing." Ino said, turning around to the end table that stood in the hall, where Hinata had so gracefully discarded her beeper.

Sure enough, the device was beeping and flashing and vibrating in the same fashion she knew to be urgent. She didn't move; not because she was frozen in fear but because she had no intention nor desire to return to that clinic. Not with _him _there.

"Are you gonna go?" Ino asked redundantly after a few seconds of condensed silence, as if it was the obvious thing to do, as if it was that easy.

Hinata thought it over for a second before throwing out the notion that she had no right to be selfish at that moment. "Well, it probably isn't for me…"

"Hinata!" Ino huffed appalled at Hinata's carelessness. "You took an oath when you became a nurse that you would help those who need you whenever possible." Ino proclaimed with her hands gripping her hips.

Hinata frowned. Wow, she really needed Ino to tell her that. Ino of all people. Perhaps she _was _slipping.

"Listen, Hina. It's your beeper. It beeped. You're on call. Go." Ino spoke sternly, tossing Hinata her beeper and ejecting herself from the room. Hinata blushed, catching the beeper just barely. How could she be so foolish in front of her friend? She sighed, pressing the quiet button on her beeper and standing up. On the other side of her room her uniform was hanging, dry cleaned and pressed.

"Alright. Here goes nothing." She said to herself lowly, approaching the dreaded get-up.

16 minutes later she was in front of the clinic. She'd counted; it was a bit of a habit. Why was she even there? She couldn't help but question her purpose when she stood outside of the small, brick and mortar hospital. It didn't need her. It was full of skilled professionals who actually had a use other than wrapping little boys' booboos, and she could barely do that successfully.

"Hinata! Thank God." A fellow nurse came through the front sliding doors. Hinata was shocked, partly because the woman came out so abruptly and it startled her and partly because she had no idea why anyone would thank God for her presence. "We need you in here ASAP." The nurse panted then grabbed Hinata's wrist and began pulling her inside.

Hinata was confused about what was happening. One second she was outside contemplating her importance and the next she was getting pulled inside the hospital that didn't need her. This could only mean one thing: She'd been picked for a top secret, highly dangerous experiment. She was mentally preparing to be mutilated with small scissors.

"W-what's going on?" Hinata asked completely befuddled.

Before her question could be answered she was pulled into a random room that was quite large in size, much larger than the average room for patients there.

"Found her." The nurse said, patting Hinata's back quite hard in reference. As Hinata turned around to possibly scowl at the woman, she was off on her busy way down the hall. Hinata turned back to meet the face of another equally panicking and serious doctor.

"I'm glad you're here, Hinata. He seems to have injuries we can't detect. We're going to need your Byakugan to do a few good sweeps over his entire body." The doctor began rattling along.

Hinata blushed. A few good sweeps? Over whose body? No one was in the reclinable bed that was in the corner. The room was empty.

"Excuse me?" She flushed a deep crimson, pressing her palms to her cheeks in an effort to hide her embarrassment.

"Oh, here he is." The doctor turned as did Hinata.

He was preceded by the sound of bare feet patting against the linoleum floor. Hinata hadn't realized there was a bathroom adjacent to the room she stood in. That made sense as the Uchiha man slowly and nonchalantly stepped out of the doorway and into the room.

As she looked at him now, he seemed less 'near-death'. He was broad, his muscles were cut, and his back was straight like an army general. His skin was still whiter than a bed sheet and his hair was still losing color, although Hinata noticed he'd acquired a haircut in the last few days. His hair was now at shoulder length, thick and straight; similar to what she remembered it to be.

"Did you go?" The doctor asked Sasuke.

Hinata blushed once again. There was no getting around her mortification.

Sasuke seemed to glance up at the doctor, as his eyes were fixed on his feet, and sneer as he came in. Hinata watched him expectantly. She didn't know what she expected; maybe a hug, a welcome, eye contact, a wave, something, anything. But no, nothing, he said nothing. In no way did he acknowledge that she was even there. Maybe he was too ashamed of how he looked. Maybe he didn't see her.

"Hinata is going to scan over your body just a few times and figure out just where this pain is coming from." The doctor said, pulling out the clipboard from the holder on Sasuke's bed and reviewing over it for a few seconds.

"I told you, I don't have any pain." Sasuke hissed.

It had been so long since Hinata last heard his venomous tone. It scared her more than it did the doctor. Something in this was worse than what he used to say, much worse.

"Be that as it may," The doctor said, not taking his eyes away from whatever important information was on the board. "I'm going to leave you for now just to run a few tests. She'll get your scan ready and hopefully we'll know what's going on with you from what she sees." He patted Hinata's shoulder as he walked out; devoid of any obvious concern for the girl he was leaving inside a lion's den.

This was something Hinata was used to. Silence. Silence between her and Sasuke. Silence between them and the world. What was there to say? Should she try to "catch up" with him? Should she run up to him and throw herself into his arms? Somehow she doubted that he would catch her.

He just sat there blandly on the bed, his hair hanging over his face and his eyes permanently stuck to the floor. Hinata attempted to approach him but like a majestic bird, he somehow detected the movement of each muscle in her body. His eyes darted up and became fixed on her.

It was like he was draining her confidence in a half-second glance. His eyes were so piercing. They had turned; somehow they became even darker than before. His face was much more mature, older. His chin and upper lip were lightly dusted with prickles of hair. His mouth… well she'd never seen a frown so joy-less. Nothing was right with the world in his head. It was clear by the look on his face. This was unlike anything she'd ever seen from him. He was meaner, darker, crueler.

"I… I'm just going to take a look at you now… if that's okay." Hinata mumbled. Well, it started as words, it ended as a mumble.

Sasuke gave no motion to respond. He just continued staring as if Hinata was threatening his life somehow. She stood there, not knowing what to do.

"Okay." She said with a shaky voice and nervous hands, hoping she could manage not to faint. "Here goes." With that, she made the appropriate sign. Nowadays, she no longer needed any out-loud proclamation to activate her blood trait. It had become natural in her profession.

The second she'd activated it and began to adjust her now ultrasensitive vision she was somehow blinded and forced to shut her eyes. It wasn't like staring at the sun for a second too long. This was a quick, sharp pain in both of her eyes. She saw a flash of light for barely a second before she felt needles being inserted directly through her corneas. When she was finally able to open her eyes she noticed Sasuke's gross, territorial and brooding expression. How did he do that? He somehow deflected her Byakugan back into her eyes on purpose. But why? She was only trying to help him.

"I don't want your help." He finally said under a deep and hard breath of air.

"You have a herniated intervertebral disc." Hinata said then immediately regretted it. She had no idea where that came from. In the time that she saw his insides, she managed to collect that bit of information. She just didn't know why she blurted it out in that way.

His expression didn't change. He continued glaring. How did she recover that much so fast? She'd grown so much.

"Your back probably hurts." She added. She figured she may as well. He said nothing in response. This was her way of getting his attention, or at least getting it away from murdering her. "The good thing is, it's not degenerative. It's a stress injury. If you're light on your back for a month or two, and with sufficient anti-inflammatory medications you'll be fine."

Still, he was unmoved.

So she just kept talking.

"If worse comes to worse, we'll need to do a cortisone injection into your spine." She said, eyes beginning to tear up just a bit. It hurt her. It really did. It was hard to see him so stoic and unmoved by anything she said, after so long of being apart. It was hard to know he was in such pain yet too afraid and too proud to reveal it. "You'll probably go through rehabilitation…" Things were long gone from there. Her tears had escaped and now she was just embarrassing herself… once again, always.

He sat at the edge of his bed, staring into her very soul while she fought to control tears that came down like a waterfall.

"What are you crying about?" He asked disgustedly. It sounded like more of a statement. Something along the lines of, _you're an idiot for crying right now_.

Hinata wiped her eyes. She wanted to respond. She wanted to tell him everything, everything she'd been through in the last six years, how she never gave up, how she missed him more than she ever thought she would. The words just wouldn't come out.

"Nothing?" Sasuke cracked. "Why am I not surprised?"

Hinata stood in awe. Why was he being so cruel to her?

"Believe it or not, _princess_. Your cleverness is limited. _Really _limited. You think you can walk in here and throw your nurse knowledge at me and I'll just smile and jump for joy, don't you?" He scoffed bitterly. "I don't care. Nothing you could say will make me care."

"I… I just w-wanted t-to help you." She cried softly into her bare arm, only now realizing that she'd neglected to bring her coat along with her. She was exposed. That just added one thing to all the reasons today was an awful day to be alive. It didn't take very much silence for her to realize what was happening here. Either he'd turned into a horrible monster in his leave or he was "teasing" her once again. She prayed it was the latter. Let it be like before, just like before. "I'll go." She said, slowly making her way to the door, expecting some violent and angry command for her to remain.

"Go." He said.


	5. Chapter 5

"_Here." Sasuke said towards his ice cream cone with a grimace. _

_Hinata smiled in delight. She now was accounting for two ice cream cones. She felt a bit childish and a bit ashamed, but what was there to oppose when she had double the ice cream? She received the cone Sasuke handed to her in disgust._

"_I hate chocolate." He said with a frown. _

"_Then why did you get chocolate?" Hinata asked curiously, licking both cones interchangeably._

"_I forgot how much I hate it." He answered readily. He often spoke without any real thought. He didn't need it. It was redundant. He said things and they made sense. Even when they didn't, he had a way of fooling people into thinking they did._

_Hinata giggled. "That's fine." She responded gingerly as the pair walked down the street in the center of town. Sasuke had his hands shoved down in his pockets like usual. He walked slowly and carelessly as if he had no place to be. He never really did. He could go anywhere he wanted. He was merely settling for this hum-drum town. That's what was so flattering about him to Hinata._

_No matter how aloof and uncaring he tried to make himself appear, she saw how humble he was. Of course, it was undeniable that he was bold, cocky, arrogant, selfish and all other traits religious texts may advise against. At the same time he was grateful and caring. It was a mystery to Hinata. Hell, it was even a mystery to him._

"_You know, you can be kind at times." Hinata said, almost meaning for it to only come across to herself._

"_What?" Sasuke asked. He was only slightly offended that he was perceived as anything less than a heartless monster. _

"_I… I just mean t-that you… you're not like what people say." She said nervously, feeling like she just committed a crime against the boy._

"_Hm." He grunted. "Would you rather me be unearthly cruel to you?"_

"_No." It didn't take Hinata long to think about that answer. She'd managed to keep Sasuke's cruelty to a minimum for quite a while; she didn't want to incite anything now._

"_Fine then." Sasuke said. "Just realize that I am a deviant. I've harmed things cuter than you."_

"_Oh." Hinata should have feared for her life in that split second, rather she found her heart pumping faster than an engine and her face burning red. He had loosely, indirectly called her __**cute**__. She was cute. He thought she was cute._

_Sasuke controlled his own nervousness as he realized just what his statement sounded like. "Don't read too much into that." He corrected, maintaining some of his evil façade._

"_How should I read it?" Hinata asked, noting the drops of sticky ice cream that slid down her fingers since she'd been ignoring her ice cream._

"_I don't hate you." He spoke, looking at her face for some reason unknown to him and Hinata likewise. "But it's nothing special."_

_It didn't matter. Hinata was already more giddy than any ordinary mean statement could defeat. _

_Seeing how obviously happy she was, with her broad grin and vibrant blush, Sasuke coughed a bit. He didn't want her to be so happy, yet he didn't want to take it away. _

"_Does this mean… I am… and you are… we're friends?" Hinata meekly questioned hopefully. _

_How could he say no? She stared at him with those big, gorgeous white eyes. She was so modest, so sincere. "Don't take to many liberties with it." He said._

_She could practically feel her heart exploding with elation. He not only thought she was cute, he also considered her to be his friend. _

_He almost wanted to smile, though he would never show that much weakness. Seeing her so happy, it just made him… happy? It evoked some kind of uncommon emotion in his shell of a heart cavity. Perhaps it was just humorous, humorous to see her so very stupidly absorbed by him. Perhaps he was just genuinely moved to see her happy. No, it had to be the humor one._

"_Here!" She beamed, offering Sasuke her half-dampened ice cream cone topped with vanilla ice cream and multicolor sprinkles. The off-white cream dripped down the sides of the cone and stuck to her fingers but it was in near-mint condition._

_Sasuke grimaced once again disturbed by the cold treat she was pushing in his direction. "What?" He groaned._

"_It's for you." She chuckled._

_He stared at it for another extended 20 seconds before accepting it hesitantly. _

"_Gee, thanks." He shrugged sarcastically. "Am I supposed to eat it?" He hoped not._

_She nodded eagerly. _

"_You've already licked it." He stated as if she didn't already know. _

_She frowned. "Yes but… you licked yours as well and I'm still eating it." _

_She made a point. He looked down at the mess of sugar that was currently smudged across his thumb. He really didn't care for ice cream or anything sugary for that matter. Despite that, he had this insane provocation to cater to her childish ideas._

_He licked it once cautiously. The taste was awful, more sweet than he could bear. When he looked at her, she was so stupidly and pathetically content; so he continued. "I hope this ice cream wasn't supposed to be a symbol of our friendship. I'll tell you right now, that's just idiotic." He said, if only to deter the thought that he sincerely cared about her._

_Her heart became swollen with an array of emotions that she'd never felt before. From that day on, time seemed to pass expeditiously. She could barely hold onto any fraction of a moment between herself and him. Each little thing held so much meaning for her. Some part of her doubted that he cared at all, but the most relevant part of her disregarded those doubts. For once in her life, she felt as though she was a necessary part of someone's life._

**He doesn't eat very much.**

**He hates sweet things.**

**He can be very kind at times.**

**He hates it when people find out how modest he is.**

**He thinks I'm cute.**

**He says we're friends.**

**To amend my second statement, he enjoys vanilla ice cream.**

* * *

****So yes, short chapter. It's the first of many flashback scenes in this story, but other flashbacks will be part of larger chapters where the story progresses as well.

Also, just to troll a review I got (Yah, I know, bad girl xD)

Yes, his name was written in loopy letters and undotted I's even though they write in Japanese in Konoha. This story is clearly written in English, so I'm guessing not many of my readers are bilingual and fluent in Japanese as well. A lot of people enjoy the series who do not speak and read Japanese. That's why Naruto is dubbed and subtitled for it's English-speaking audience. Don't be a stickler.

But anyways, THANK YOU for all taking the time to read and review my story. It will get better, I promise. I just wish I had some more reviews :P But I love you all, you're so supportive. I won't keep you waiting for the next chapter. 3

- Guytar's Ukulady


	6. Chapter 6

In a small, odd-smelling universe just in proximity to the rest of the world, Naruto Uzumaki slept comfortably in his living room. It was messy, cluttered and somewhat damp. It was a universe only he was akin to. Ordinarily he would be dealing with the everyday troubles that plagued Konoha, but when he was at peace in his domain he was blind to violence and the nonsense.

It was in his blue, plaid corduroy loveseat, which he'd found thrown out behind Sakura's parents' house, that he staid peacefully blurred into a soft and uninterrupted sleep. Despite the numerous tainted china bowls stacked up above his TV-cupboard and the orange rinds accumulating in the corner next to his bath time slippers, he found solace in this place.

Little did he know, come to interrupt his slumber, Hinata stood on the other side of his front door nervously contemplating whether or not to knock. His feet dug into the stained concrete of his front steps and she breathed heavily. She'd been sent there by the head of the clinic to deliver an elixir to Naruto, something to deter his common bouts of diarrhea. Since he was considered a village-wide hero, his healthcare was speedy. The village cared for him in ways that no one ever had before, other than Hinata.

She blushed just thinking of what interaction would occur between them. She knew what she wanted to happen. She also knew that that was ridiculously unrealistic. The man was more likely to take the elixir from her hand, chug it in front of her in excess, and thank her by calling her the wrong name.

She sighed. That was just her reality.

Finally, with her head low, she knocked on the faded red-painted wooden door.

No response.

She didn't know why but for some reason she felt like she'd been rejected for a date, as if he knew it was her knocking and decidedly hid behind his couch in hopes that she would just go away.

She looked down at the bottle in her hand, questioning whether or not he really needed it.

Just as she began to turn and walk far away from that place she heard the unmistakable voice of her long-time crush. "Who is it?"

She blushed again. His voice was so manly. He sounded tired, his words slurred together messily. She couldn't believe she was even there to hear him at such a candid moment in his life.

She hesitated. What If she says who it is and he never comes to the door? She swallowed her reservations. She simply had to bite the bullet on this one. She couldn't just leave her task uncompleted. She was asked to do such a simple thing. What would they think if she neglected to follow through with it?

"H-Hinata Hyuuga." She said nervously. She immediately felt moronic. Why would she say her first and last name? He knows who she is.

She felt some sense of death approaching. If he didn't open the door she didn't know what she was going to do. If he did open the door she didn't know what she was going to do.

She jumped when she heard the sound of a chair moving and footsteps approaching the door. Her heart pumped blood twice as fast and she began to shake furiously. Why was she so nervous? Over the last five years she'd encountered Naruto countless times. He was oblivious and ignorant each time. Why would anything be different?

He opened the door swiftly without many steps between. She couldn't hide her all-over redness when she saw him. He was as handsome as ever; tall, blonde and with a body structured by God. His eyes were a bit red and crusted over and his face slightly swollen and pale. His hair had even moved from its natural all-over-the-place position. It was now flat in some places and matted to his head. Though she felt a twinge of disgust from the reeking smell his house emitted, she was honored to share this moment with him even if he experienced it on a day-to-day basis.

"Hey." He grunted detachedly. He was usually so very excited to see Hinata. He was usually pretty excited to see anyone, especially a girl. At the moment, he was disorganized and careless – somewhat angry that he was woken from his nap. He motioned for the girl to come in as he entered into the dirty depths of his house.

Hinata glanced down to be greeted by his worn, orange sweatpants and his bare feet patting against the smudged wooden floor. He was perfect in every way.

Naruto wiped his eyes indefinitely, not sure of what other residue he was trying to eliminate. He turned around to her when they were dead in the center of his living room. He wasn't sure why he led her there specifically. He wasn't in his right mind.

Hinata stared at him nervously. Here she was, face-to-face with the epitome of perfection in his own domain. She felt like royalty.

And she remained in this daze until she was interrupted by Naruto's meticulous sighing. That was when she realized that she'd come there for a purpose other than daydreaming about Naruto.

"This." She said, moderately offering Naruto the elixir in somewhat of a rush. She didn't want to feel like she was annoying him. "I have this… from the clinic… for you." She had to look away. She sounded so stupid.

Naruto took it from her with no quickness or excitement. He was so out of touch that he had no idea what she was handing him. Once he took a look at it, it came to him. "Oh, thanks." He smiled.

Hinata was relieved to see that she'd fulfilled her purpose and simultaneously pleased Naruto. Now she stood there miscellaneously, waiting for some kind of dismissal. The truth was she just didn't know how to remove herself from the space. It wasn't that she didn't want to leave (though she didn't); it was that she didn't remember how she'd gotten there. Looking around her, Hinata didn't remember a stack of 4x4 wood planks in the middle of the floor.

"So, how's work going for ya?" To her surprise, Naruto was actually talking to her. Well, he'd spoken to her before but never in private. She always believed there would be nothing to talk about. Nothing important that is.

She cleared her throat. She didn't know what to say. What should she say? Should she draw it out for as long as she could or somehow bait him into complimenting her? No, that's insane. She mentally slapped herself for being so devious. She could never manipulate Naruto that way. In reality, there wasn't much manipulation to the practice.

"Just fine." She finally opted out for and felt immensely relieved. Well, that part was over.

"Did you ever figure out what's wrong with that bastard of a ninja?" Naruto asked jokingly.

Suddenly, Hinata felt stunned. She'd managed to go all morning without thinking about him. As soon as she came in, she was told to deliver this package. She then wasted two hours constantly stopping and going in route to Naruto's house in order to decide whether or not she was prepared for the task. Sasuke hadn't crossed her mind at all.

Since their last meeting, she avoided him at all costs. It had been four days and some hours. She even felt redundant for counting. He terrified her, hurt her feelings and pushed her so far away that she could hardly recover from the feeling of rejection. That day she left, returned home, wept for some amount of time and decided to herself that the only good she could do for the Uchiha was to leave him alone and stay as far away as humanly possible.

That didn't keep her from obsessing about him day and night.

"Well… he… he was a – um – slipped disc." Hinata forced herself to say despite the fact that she knew Naruto most likely had no idea what that even was. "I couldn't look long enough to see any other damage."

Naruto stared at her for a few seconds. She crumbled under his scrutiny but maintained her composure. Finally, after a torturous amount of thinking he said, "What's a slipped disc?"

Hinata wanted to laugh, though she kept that inside her head. He was adorable. "It's ah – um – when the discs… well, you see, you have squishy discs between your vertebrae… the things that make up your spine, and sometimes – uh – if you do something strenuous or if you… bend a certain way it can… it can make the material of those discs slip out from between the vertebrae… and it's very painful."

"That's awful!" Naruto blurted out, furrowing his eyebrows.

Hinata smiled at how passionate he was about it.

"It's quite fixable." Hinata said in hopes to ease his worry. "It's not even a major injury."

Naruto exhaled in relief. "Well," he said, wiping his brow. "From what he's been through, I'm surprised his back isn't broken off."

Hinata mentally corrected him as it was impossible to detach someone's back from their body in a way that the person would remain alive. However, she was more curious as to what – and just _what_ he's been through. "W-what has he been through?" Hinata asked wearily.

Naruto's expression was fowl, cross, something Hinata wasn't used to him wearing. "You don't know?" He asked. Hinata felt a bit uneasy. What did she not know?

She shook her head cautiously as she watched his expression change from sad to surprised to serious.

"He and his unit got captured in Suna." Naruto said as if it was given information.

Hinata covered her mouth in utter shock.

"They took him to Amegakure. They killed half his unit. Then they tortured the rest until Sasuke agreed to fight alongside the Amegakure inn. Three years later, Sasuke managed to slay all of the ninja on the camp. By then all his energy was exhausted, he didn't even have enough to get back here. It took him three months to get here with the last two ninja in his unit." Naruto said with his eyes on the floor. He felt furious just telling the story. It was horrible, a horrible thing to happen to one of his dearest friends. No matter what Sasuke said to him, he didn't deserve this.

What was Hinata to do, what was she to say? She only had one word, one name come to mind – and it meant everything. "W-who is responsible for this?" Her eyes glazed over with moisture. She needed to know, though she already knew somehow.

Naruto's look grew slightly more somber. Hinata didn't know it was possible. She'd never seen him so down, so grave. "Well, it hasn't been verified but… we believe that the unit he was captured by may have been subordinates to Orochimaru."

Hinata stared blankly at Naruto. She knew, everyone knew, that Orochimaru was the cause for much of Sasuke's bitterness. Aside from the ordeal he'd undergone losing his parents, Orochimaru consumed years of his life. He broke him down, made him feel closed to the world, bitter. So many things were running through her mind. She had no idea what to think anymore.

* * *

_Hinata cackled easily as she dropped carelessly to the ground and leaves made a small tornado around her head. Sasuke stood over her. It was almost creepy but she knew a bit better than that. _

"_I can't believe I just heard that." Sasuke scoffed, turning his head in mock-disgust. _

_They stood in the center of the forest observing the freshly fallen leaves as autumn approached. Hinata sat in a small pile of them, trying to stop her tangent of laughter. She'd never laughed this purely and heartily around anyone before. Sasuke had pushed her into the leaves as a result of her sharing her conspiracies about woodland sprites._

_Of course, she didn't believe in them. She was simply sharing the legend. Unfortunately, Sasuke found it so unentertaining that he sneered and pushed her on the ground gently. Rather than being upset, Hinata laughed because it was so peculiar for him to push her down, instead of simply telling her to be quiet. At least it didn't hurt._

"_I'm embarrassed for you." He said rolling his eyes._

_Hinata laughed even more. She knew he was joking though he tried so hard to mask it as annoyance._

"_I hope you've laughed like that before." Hinata said, managing to pull herself up without having to cling to Sasuke's leg or perform some scuttling motion that would ultimately lead to embarrassment and more teasing._

_When she brought herself face to face with the boy she had the angle to appropriately sum up his expression. Just a few inches apart from him, and a little under a foot lower, his indifferent expression was even more visible. No smile or clever smirk in sight._

"_Don't… don't be so hard." Hinata whispered. She was beginning to shrink back into herself, no longer confident and loose. _

"_Don't expect me to be soft." He said lowly. She just didn't understand, she never would – in fact, no one would ever understand what he'd been through. His life was incomparable to anyone else's. No one had seen what he did and he doubted anyone would come out as put-together as he did. Well, put-together may be an overstatement. Regardless of how whole he felt, he knew he never would be. Yes, he didn't need family, he didn't need anyone and he despised the idea of having a meaningful relationship with any creature. And yet, when his family was killed, he lost a part of him that could not be easily replaced. He'd given up on searching for it long ago and put all of his energy into training, into being better for some unknown purpose, to please a faceless god. It was only lately that he indefinitely pursued companionship, an act that began without his conscious knowledge. Either way, he allowed it and fostered it but he would only let it go so far._

_It didn't take much thought for Hinata to understand. "I know." She said in hopes to offer him some kind of comfort to no avail. It was impossible to bring him out of these ruts. His mood often appeared elevated but dropped before Hinata had time to enjoy it. Then again, she couldn't imagine what it would be like to live all alone, knowing your family and everyone you once loved is gone._

"_Here." Sasuke interjected, pushing himself about a meter back and facing Hinata with another classic fierce expression. "Spar with me." He said, posing himself fiercely in his traditional stance._

_Hinata frowned. She hated training with Sasuke. He took it too seriously. The only reason he even took the time to train with her was because he missed fighting an actual human, not just a tree. No matter how many times he tried, he could never make the tree fight back. "B-but I don't want to spar." She complained, awkwardly looking at the ground. _

"_Spar with me." He insisted, motioning for her to come at him. There was no objecting when it came to sparring with Sasuke. _

_Hinata sighed, taking her stance and counting steps in her head customarily. _

"_Give me all you got." Sasuke said, digging his sandals into the ground and focusing in on Hinata's small body._

_With no other provocation she came at him as swift as he body would allow. He always got her hopes up in this way. He would not move until she was just barely touching him. Then like magic he would disappear and reappear just behind her. Only this time he didn't use a burst of Chidori to fling her face-first into a shaft of a tree. Instead he allowed her just a moment to recover from her failed attempt. Just before she could turn around, hoping to trace the pattern of his movement, he gently pressed his foot to her mid-back and pushed her onto the ground. _

_With an "ump" she landed with her face in a small pile of leaves and her bottom in the air. Good thing Sasuke couldn't see her face; she was blushing like never before. She didn't know how to get out of this one, though it could be argued that she wasn't exactly "trapped" or "disabled". She was just confused and a little startled. _

_Sasuke simply stood there, trying not to pay mind to her rump that was poised in the air right in front of his face. No matter how round he found it to be, he refused to admire it. It was too human. If he wanted it, he would have it. Sex was something fourteen year old boys worried about, it was something Naruto worried about, it was something people who didn't have to train indefinitely worried about. Not him. He had sex a few times, got over it, and moved on. Aside from that, Hinata was the 16-year-old daughter of one of the most important men in the village. If any of the elders even found out she was in the forest alone with Sasuke, he'd be forced to marry her. Well, they would try to force him and in his mind he saw himself murdering them all._

_With no more thought he placed his foot on Hinata's bottom and pushed it down so that she was lying flat on her front. She didn't attempt to move for a while. They were both a bit startled at that point. After a while she pushed herself up and shook her head, trying to get the leaves and what felt like a caterpillar out of her nostrils. She got to her feet and rubbed her eyes._

_When she turned around to face Sasuke he couldn't help but smirk, seeing her hair filled with jagged leaves and her face smudged with soil. _

_As a result, a smile began to creep upon her face as well. "What are you laughing at?" She asked absently._

"_You couldn't be more of an imbecile." He said. He knew he often sounded quite condescending in the way that he was always putting others down. He didn't care._

_Of course, Hinata would never disagree. She thought so poorly of herself that she even feared her own reaction if she did. So she went with it, and things turned out alright most of the time._

"_What?" She asked humorously._

_As surprising as it seemed, Sasuke shoved her gently just before he playfully ran into the distance. _

_Hinata recoiled and followed him insistently with a big smile and a heavy heart._

**He doesn't like to show his happiness.**

**He possibly fears exposure of vulnerability.**

**He assumes he is smarter than everyone and displays it without fear.**

**He is hurting deeply but refuses to speak of it.**

**He enjoys training with people who are obviously inferior to him, for his ego.**

**He does not find me sexually attractive.**

**He is easily put in a good humor by the misfortune of others.**


	7. Chapter 7

"What do I do with this?!" Sakura grimaced as she picked out a small cup of golden fluid from a cart of similar cops, all individually marked with differing names and dates and numbers.

Hinata sighed. "They're urine samples, Sakura."

It was a long morning. Sakura opted to begin work at the clinic, as it was customary for the women in her family and she had so little to do with her time as of late. Hinata believed it was some type of devious ploy to get close to Sasuke. Actually, she more than believed it, she knew it. It just didn't matter. Sasuke had never been fond of Sakura and Hinata was sure he never would be. Even so, Sakura was in training and would be knee deep in tutorials and tests for weeks before she could tend to any patients.

"Why are they in these cups?" Sakura frowned, placing the cup back on the cart.

"They're for testing." Hinata said blankly. It was now that she realized she wasn't the dumbest person on earth, not so long as she was smarter than Sakura.

"For testing what?" Sakura whined.

Goodness, she was like a four year old. Luckily, a fellow nurse came to Hinata's sure rescue.

"Hinata, can I borrow you for a second?" The brunette woman said, motioning for Hinata to follow her around the corner.

Hinata walked away with a shrug and a wave, secretly relieved. Sakura stood there completely and utterly puzzled, staring at the cart of urine samples with displeasure.

"Yes?" Hinata spoke quietly, assuming that this was private in nature by the fact that she was taken into a short hall with only one door leading off of it.

"We need someone to escort our – um – _mission _to his house." The nurse whispered, looking around cautiously.

"_Mission_?" Hinata whispered in return. She didn't know of any mission. Since when did the village clinic participate in espionage?

"You know – _mission_." She reiterated, nodding her head in the direction of the wing that was currently exclusive to Sasuke Uchiha.

Hinata nodded, finally understanding, although it just opened up even more unanswered questions. "What about him?" She asked curiously.

"Someone – I mean _someone_," She uttered, raising her eyebrows to implicate Hinata. "Has to make sure our _mission _gets home safely."

"B-but why me?" Hinata asked in a level voice.

"Shhh!" The nurse quickly hushed her. "Look, someone has to get him home safely. When they asked who could do it, everyone pointed to you. They're not my orders; they're the Chief of Medicine's orders."

"Chief of Medicine?" Hinata whispered. She didn't even know they had a Chief of Medicine.

"Look, either you escort _him _to his house or you keep training that annoying girl over there." She said, pointing to Sakura around the corner.

Hinata turned around to see Sakura fumbling with three urine samples at the same time, then dropping them on the floor causing the fluid inside to spill on the floor. She grimaced at the sight, looking around to see if anyone saw.

Hinata frowned. Well, the stakes were high.

"I'll do it." Hinata sighed in defeat.

The nurse jumped for joy, elated that she no longer had to deal with the moodiness that was the Uchiha prince. "Good. I'll have them bring him down." She smiled. She then walked over to the front desk, where the seat next to the check-in was empty. She sat down, picked up the phone and dialed a simple 3-digit number. She waited for a moment then spoke into the receiver. "Hello, we have an escort for Sasuke here. Send him on down."

She hung up and looked at Hinata with a smile.

Hinata held her breath. Yes, it was out of character but she couldn't fight the urge to walk up to the woman and break her neck.

Then they both stood there aimlessly. Hinata shook in her place. Just the thought of Sasuke approaching made her physically ill. It's as if she could sense his life force getting closer and closer. The nurse simply sat there with an all-too-sweet smile, tapping her pen against the edge of the desk.

Finally she heard the clatter of feet hurrying down the hall to her right. She froze. She knew he was coming. She knew he would most likely torture her emotionally and break her down into nothing again… again.

Without fail, he came walking down the hall. He was as tall and handsome as ever. Hinata blushed, feeling stupid that the first thing she noticed about him was his physique. She also couldn't help but notice how independently he walked down the hall, he stood tall and strong.

Following close behind him came a group of six interns and nurses; two of them holding the remnants of a broken wheelchair, one's glasses were cracked at the lens. They call hurried behind him in a stir. Sasuke stood in front of Hinata and the nurse as if he had no reason to be there, awaiting some dismissal.

The nurse behind Hinata stood up crossly. "Hey! He's supposed to be in a wheelchair! No one can leave the hospital unless they're in a wheelchair!"

"We tried, Ma'am!" The intern holding part of the broken chair said. "When we told him he had to get in the chair he broke it!"

"Yeah! And when I tried to get a different one, he threw one of the broken wheels at my face!" The other said, pointing to his broken glasses.

Hinata and the nurse turned and looked at Sasuke, hoping to verify or disprove the tale.

Oh, and he just stood there blankly. After a few moments he shrugged emotionlessly.

Hinata laughed in her head. In a way, it reminded her of how he used to be. He would rather break the wheelchair than say he didn't want it. He'd rather push Hinata down than tell her to shut up. He could be so difficult at times.

"You know what; just get him out of here." The nurse said with a deep sigh, heading away to some unknown place, probably just trying to get away from Sasuke.

"Um, do you want us to help you?" A meek intern asked cautiously, glancing at Sasuke out of the corner of his eye.

"Get _lost_." Sasuke barked.

The group immediately fled in terror, leaving behind pieces of the discarded wheelchair and a few pens. Hinata had half a mind to swipe them. She was constantly in need of a pen around the hospital. For some reason, they were hard to come by.

Sasuke shoved past her and headed for the door without saying anything. Hinata blushed in shock as he easily pushed her aside and made his way. She then followed him nervously. As she walked behind him, she noticed a slight flaw in his usually perfect posture. His back curved just a bit. She thought it over in her head as she walked two steps behind him for an hour and a half until they came up to his flat.

He walked so slowly. She assumed he was a glutton for attention. Everyone in town spotted him and watched him in either admiration or fear. He never batted an eye. He looked straight in front of him and walked, not slowing or speeding up.

Sasuke's house was as Hinata remembered it. It was unkempt, surrounded by trees and hanging branches, dark. Spider webs lined the windows and dust covered the door handles. Hinata was a bit fearful. Just being on the property after so long made her stomach upset. Sasuke stopped for a moment when he came up on the veranda. He looked up, staring at the roof for some odd reason. Hinata watched attentively. Just what was he looking at?

"Hm." He said lifelessly. So much time had gone by and nothing changed. He continued on up to the front steps with no more hesitation.

It unsettled Hinata but she continued on behind him. After a while, she began walked beside him almost. It was like they were going through this together, opening old wounds.

He grabbed the heavy door handle, it felt cold in his hand, and pulled the door open. He'd forgotten how heavy it was. It was real oak, coated in a heavy industrial resin. His father made the doors himself. It was funny, now he felt so little reminding himself of that fact. It made no difference. His father was dead and so was he essentially.

When the door opened, an echo rang all through the house. Sasuke looked about in the darkness for just a second before stepping in without caution. Hinata shook uncontrollably. It was like walking into a horror film, yet this was Sasuke's home. No wonder he was so dark.

The floor was coated with dusk so thick that it flew up from the floor boards and swirled about with each step she and Sasuke took.

By the door there was a line of shoes. One pair of blue sandals belonging to Sasuke, he'd swapped them out for a more battle-ready pair just before he left. Two pairs belonged to his mother and father, neatly placed side by side. It was the last one that caught her eye. Literally one, just one shoe. It stood at the very end, femininely shaped and a little faded.

"T-that's m-my shoe." She said without really thinking. She was in awe that it was still there. She lost it one day when she was tending to Sasuke's mother's wilted garden. She usually took off her shoes when she gardened. Unfortunately, when she was ready to leave she could only find one amongst the leaves and soil. She ended up leaving with one sandal. Sasuke mentioned looking for it but gave no promise of its safe return. Yet there it was.

"Get out." Sasuke said, not even stopping to reminisce with her. He didn't even turn around or acknowledge that she was no longer following him.

Hinata frowned. How could he be so cruel? "I can't." She said sadly. "Its hospital protocol, I must make sure you get to bed."

Sasuke stopped. He didn't stop of remorse. He stopped because he was shocked by how annoying she was. She knew better than anyone that he didn't care about any protocol, let alone hospital protocol. Why wouldn't she just leave?

He didn't say anything; he just exhaled and continued on his way. Hinata had no choice but to continue following him

He preceded to the back of his house, where a wooden sliding door led to his backyard, a part of it that was isolated by fences specifically for training.

"Where are you going?" Hinata asked out of worry.

"Training." He answered, sliding the door open and stepping out into the light of day.

"Sasuke, I have to get you to your bed." She pleaded, simply wishing to turn around, walk out of that house and never return.

"Don't you get it? Just leave me alone. I don't need you here." He mumbled.

Hinata was about to cry. How unfortunate, she seemed to be crying quite a bit as of late. How could he be so rejecting? She wanted to help him; she wanted to be there for him. Yet he rejected her, treated her like a liability. Of course, she cried. It hurt her more than anything ever had.

"I… I only want to help you." She said. She said that to him many times, it always led to a deeper level of hatred and rejection. She didn't know why she kept trying.

"If you want to help me, you'll leave me alone. I want to be by myself." I said sternly, not bothering to face her while saying it.

Hinata stood there for a moment and thought about it. She thought about everything. Perhaps she was being selfish. She expected Sasuke to return from something so traumatic and run to her with open arms. She wanted something from him that he was unwilling to give, unready to give. Maybe all he needed was isolation. He often isolated himself, that was his way of relaxing. Who was she to take that from him?

"Okay." She said calmly. She took a step back and turned the other way slowly. As she turned she felt the shake of Sasuke slamming the wooden door that led to the back of his house. She shuttered but only for a moment. It only hurt for a moment.

* * *

"_You can eat so much raw fish." Hinata beamed, amused by how much sushi Sasuke had just consumed in all of ten minutes. She smiled at him fondly as they sat together in Konoha's local fish market. Inside they had installed a few tables for people to come and have a plate of fresh sushi if they wanted. Sasuke insisted upon going there, complaining about how bored he was of his routine training regimen._

_He glared at her, slightly angry at her for noticing but mostly for talking. He had three small plates stacked in front of him that once contained arubi and hoso maki. He loved the spice and the taste of the raw components. It made him feel more alive, either that or more dominant over a species that was already dead. He was planning on opening the other two foam sushi plates. _

_Hinata had barely touched hers. She was never quite fond of sushi, she merely submitted to the desires of a higher power. That higher power being Sasuke. _

"_Thank you for paying." She said, as he said nothing in return to her last statement. She never knew why she was so desperate to talk to him, to relate to him in such a manner. Though they spent hours daily together on end, the majority of their time wasn't spent sharing hopes and dreams. _

"_Next time I'll buy you lunch." She said with a blush. It just seemed like they were on a date when she said it like that. She certainly entertained the thought and it amused her relentlessly. _

"_Don't bother." Sasuke returned, reaching to open his newest package of fresh sushi._

_Hinata's spirit dropped in a nanosecond. "Oh." She murmured._

_She always tried so hard and he couldn't find it in him to reciprocate the same efforts. As a result of this, she lowered her head. How embarrassed could she be? As it turns out, very. Sasuke just continued eating his sushi by the mouthful, skillfully picking up each morsel with the chopsticks and shoveling the segments into his mouth._

_With a mouthful of rice and nori, he turned his head to her nonchalantly. He wasn't sure if he cared exactly if she was disappointed by his words. She had a plate of free sushi, which he had his eye on. It was after a few more minutes passed that her silence began to perturb him. The longer she was silent, the more he was tempted to comfort her. He always found himself comforting her. Why, why, why? He wasn't her crutch. She was just a dumb girl who needed to learn that no one really cared for her feelings. And yet…_

"_What?" He spat gracelessly. By spat, that is to say he literally spat tiny bits of rice with that interjection. Of course, it was his intention to act as if he'd done nothing wrong and that Hinata was being overly sensitive and clearly wanted something from him._

_Her face just sank lower. He began to frown. It was so annoying. He took the time to ask her what was wrong yet she still felt somber? Feelings weren't Sasuke's strong suit._

"_What's wrong?" He asked more sternly and exigently. _

_She jumped at his hard voice. She felt like she was a puppy in trouble once again for violating some piece of furniture to standing up on the table. "I… I… uhh… it's nothing." Dammit, she almost said something. It was too late now, her words were long gone. She sank back into herself and it took a great deal of prodding to get her back out._

_Sasuke thought only that moment how much he preferred the more outgoing Hinata over the quiet and submissive version. She was just so repulsively innocent. Who wants to come across as pitiful all the time?_

_Sasuke shrugged. "Fine."_

_He said it was fine but he didn't stop thinking about it. He wanted to not care, to disregard her need for acceptance and sympathy but he couldn't find it in himself to go to that dark place, where he is the only one who exists. If he was there, he knew she wasn't. If she wasn't there, she could no longer make him feel so uncomfortable._

"_One day…" He sighed. Hinata's ears perked to the sound of his voice in a tone that wasn't intimidating or coercive. "You can buy me lunch." He finished just before he shoved another roll of sushi into his mouth._

_Hinata didn't look up. She didn't need the humiliation. It was hard to recover from these moments. However, she was overjoyed. She was overjoyed that she, essentially, had a permanent guarantee to see Sasuke again. She assumed she would be seeing him just about every day, but there was a part of her that refused to believe that he was truly her friend. She just had this idea that he would leave her and never speak to her again, deciding that she was too trivial or childish. Atleast now, she had an excuse to spend another moment with him._

"_I hope you're not excited about that." Sasuke said, reading her like a book. Hinata giggled, it was as if he knew her thoughts. Either that or he was thinking them himself._

_In the end, it didn't matter. She was there with him. They were together. If only for a moment, they were being simultaneously._

**He enjoys sushi very much.**

**He isn't much for conversation.**

**He has expendable income, enough to buy others food.**

**He is later allowing me to buy him food.**


	8. Chapter 8

"Oh, Hina, what have you gotten yourself into?" Hinata sighed as she looked up at the storm shutters and realized she was standing idly at Sasuke's doorstep again as she did just a few days ago. He said he needed to be alone yet she just kept coming. Sometimes she didn't even know what went through her mind.

Well, she looked down and noted the syringe in her hand, wrapped in a plastic protector to keep it sanitary. In her other hand was an unopened vile wrapped in the same fashion. So, she was not standing idly at his doorstep longing for another gritty, ruthless conversation. She was commanded to come here, to administer medicine, to make him feel better. He ought to appreciate it.

She knew he wouldn't. She knew long before she departed the hospital. That was why it was late into the afternoon and she was still working up the nerve to make the trip.

She exhaled a bitter breath and worked up the nerve that would ultimately lead to her knocking on his door. His big, wooden door. His big, wooden door that she was sure would transfer no sound whatsoever should her feeble hand knock against it. She hoped it didn't, because then she could just walk away and say she tried. She always tried, or said she did.

So she did just that. She made several feeble strikes against the door. She was shocked at how much it echoed through the surrounded woods and empty extensions of the clan's home. It probably echoed through the house. She could only hang on to her immature distinctions from reality in this case. It was probably true.

After three knocks she called it a draw, deciding that it was easier for her to turn and walk away victorious in the aspect that she avoided another scolding. Somehow the powers above denied her that wish for as she began to turn away, the undeniable and unforgiving sound of the bottom of the door scraping the raised concrete of the doorstep chimed all through atmosphere.

It only took her a fourth of a second to meet the face of whom she most feared.

"What?" He spat.

That was all he gave her. He could be so cold.

Hinata was in a stupor, still amazed at how easily he moved the door since it was rumored to weigh more than a horse. Once she was passed that, it took a while, she could only stare at his piercing eyes and search for a reason to be standing before him.

He didn't care for her cute and innocent gaze. He was misplaced and discontent so long as she stood there stupidly. He considered slamming the door in her face though he thought of the force of the door knocking her onto the ground. He didn't know why that held him back.

"Oh!" She peeped finally, bringing up the items in her hands. "This! I… I have to administer this… by order of the doctor."

Sasuke's face remained stoic for a moment or something longer. He contemplated denying it and snubbing her away. What did it matter to him? He didn't need her special medicine. What he needed was peace and quiet and for her to never return. It was just hard to cater to those needs when she stood there so pathetically, thinking she was helping someone.

He retreated to the dark desolate corners of his house. She merely followed him.

That way it wasn't an invitation, she just came.

This time she followed him through a narrow hallway where the gray and green wallpaper peeled from neglect. Dust covered the floor and every corner was a haven for spider webs and soot. The hallway itself was so narrow that Hinata was having a difficult time getting through without her shoulders touching both sides. Somehow he walked through effortlessly even though he was much larger than Hinata in every dimension. This house was a mystery to her.

The hall ended and opened up into a large, round room. It was a room Hinata knew well. The room was large and round and open. It was surrounded by windows that had not been completely darkened by the onset of dust and years of neglect. There were several couches right in the center, adjacent to an old television that appeared to have been used on rare occasions. The walls were lined with bookshelves and sideboards that were topped with books, trinkets, statuettes and household things. It was the family's living room. Yes, the Uchihas had a living room, not a dying room.

Sasuke said nothing. He walked over to one of the couches and sat down with all the grace and silence of a killer – or someone who really didn't like people.

Hinata followed him hesitantly, syringe and vile in hand.

He turned away so that his back faced her as she took her seat next to him on the couch.

It was then that she realized she would have to remove his shirt in order to administer the shot. She'd run into a road block.

"Um." She whispered. "Y-you need… in order to… to administer the s-shot… I need you to t-take off your shirt."

She half expected him to stand up and walk away; dismissing her and every chance she ever had to helping him.

She found today to be shocking in several manners.

He gave no argument, no refutation, and no rebuttal. He simply gripped the bottom of his shirt and pulled it over his head to reveal his back. There was no wonder why Hinata was blushing, his back was… immaculate. It was white, whiter than anything ever alive. That wasn't the thing though – it was so tone. There was no trace of fat or that there ever was fat; just tone, muscular flesh that poked out in all the right places. Subtle hairs blanketed the surface of his skin and moved as he breathed in and out.

Hinata's face was ferociously red.

"What is that?" He sneered, snapping Hinata out of her over-sexed daze.

"Uh." She stumbled, forgetting the items she held in her hands. "It's cortisone. It will help with your back pain."

"I don't have back pain." He mumbled as Hinata fixed the needle properly. He was in pain, he was very well aware of it. That didn't matter, he would never admit it. He was stronger than a normal man – or se he believed.

Hinata didn't respond. She was all too concentrated on executing the proper procedure required to administer the shot. The needle was so sharp as she slipped it out of the germ-free packaging. She hated needles. Working with them usually wasn't in her job category but no one else at the hospital was willing to make a home visit for Sasuke. Everyone wanted to help them but no one wanted to get that close. Except for Hinata, she wasn't scared. It was all too familiar to her. She'd spent countless hours within the walls of Sasuke's childhood home. It wasn't haunted; it was just inhabited by a real hard ass.

"Stick it in before I change my mind." He grumbled. His attention could only be held for so long and as it turned out, that was a few minutes. In this case, it only took twelve seconds for him to get bored. Somewhere among his hallow inner depths, he was _attached _to her in a severely despicable way which he was ashamed of. He didn't know why but he had this insane feeling that he wanted her around. He'd never say it, she'd never know. He didn't need her; it was just his heart coming back. He'd been trying so hard to block it out. He replaced his desire for her to come a little closer with a blazing desire to train and somehow get even stronger.

Hinata fumbled with the syringe. It occurred to her that she'd never actually _given _a shot to anyone before. She'd only seen instructional tapes and sat through lectures about the subject. She had no idea what to do. It took all of the nerve in her body just to pierce the protective aluminum layer over the vile and draw the substance into the syringe.

She pulled it out half-expecting the stuff to just leak out of the needle but it didn't. Now she was face with her real challenge. There was Sasuke's back right in front of her. How could she forget?

It was so human, she thought. His back had tiny, blonde hairs poking through the surface that she could just barely see standing straight eagerly awaiting the touch of her hand. He had some small stray bumps lightly dusted in red from sweat. His neck was even a little tan. In just a few days he was becoming human again.

As strong as he thought he was, he felt slightly nervous with her observing his back so closely. It was like he could feel her stare penetrating his back. He wanted to know what she thought of it; if she was disgusted by how thin and boney he was. It didn't matter. No, nothing mattered. As badly as he wanted to believe it, it just wasn't true. He had to get rid of it, get rid of her.

"I'm losing my patience." He said through gritted teeth.

"Okay, I'll do it." She exhaled. There was no need to announce that she was about to do it. She was just nervous. She gently pressed her palm against his back. Her heart skipped a beat; it was so warm, all of his tiny hairs became excited and pressed themselves to the skin of her hand, she could almost feel his heartbeat.

Sasuke nearly jumped – but didn't. Her hand, God it was so cold, but so soft. He could feel the size and shape of it as it remained pressed to his back. He said nothing.

Hinata pinched a portion of the flesh on his back together right in the center. She knew the procedure, but that only made it harder. She went through each step in her head and once she was sure of what she was doing, she did it.

Surprisingly, Sasuke didn't jump or flinch or wince. That was what she expected. Instead he just sat there as the cortisone went directly into his spinal cord. It only took a few seconds. Once it was over Hinata pulled the needle out. "There. All done." She said feeling somewhat frightened and somewhat content.

Sasuke stood up before she could even apply the small bandage she'd brought with her. She sighed; it would have looked ridiculous on his back anyway.

He began walking away without turning around. Hinata felt a little misplaced. Did he expect her to stay? Part of her wanted to stay; it wanted any excuse to remain in proximity to him at all times. Part of her wanted to go, to go and to never return to this godforsaken house again. She usually followed the latter. At times she regretted it. In this case, she didn't need to dismiss herself.

"Get out." He said nonchalantly as he made his way down the narrow hall, without turning around to acknowledge that an actual human much less a part friend was sitting behind him completely dumbfounded.

For some reason she didn't budge. She just sat there. She felt glued to the couch. She couldn't give up, she didn't have the nerve. She just didn't have it in her to walk out again. She wanted Sasuke to throw himself at her in joy and relief that they were united once again. When it came down to it, that just wasn't going to happen. She was faced with the question of how badly she wanted to see him. Despite every tiny voice in her head that disagreed, she did want to see him. She did miss their friendship and she couldn't let it go. She couldn't let him go.

"Are you deaf?" He spat venomously. "Get out."

"No." She murmured causing Sasuke to stop in his tracks. She couldn't see him because her head was down and he was all the way down the hall. He couldn't see her either because he was facing the other way.

"Hm?" He grunted. He couldn't muster up anything else. He couldn't even believe that she just defied him. What was he becoming? He'd returned from the worst ordeal he'd ever been through and now people have lost respect for him? He much less expected Hinata, as timid as she was to speak out against him.

"I… I won't leave." She whispered but Sasuke heard loud and clear. She was mortified to say the least; she could feel tears welling up behind her eyes. She didn't know why she was putting herself through this, this wasn't rational Hinata, this wasn't kind Hinata, this wasn't safe Hinata. This was a reckless part of her that she'd killed off long ago. Now wasn't the time for it to be rearing its ugly head.

"I'll say this one more time. Get. Out. Of. My. House." He said, his lips were no locked tightly together as he felt anger stir in the pit of his stomach, doing his best to suppress it – just because it was _her_. He couldn't be mad at _her_. Something wouldn't let him.

"S-Sasuke, y-you… you don't s-seem to remember… w-what we had before…" She mumbled with red cheeks, fighting back tears. Sasuke's head filled with all sorts of thoughts. What exactly did they have? He could think of so many things, some things he was fond of, some not so much.

"Our f-friendship." She finally said and Sasuke inwardly exhaled, feeling an emotion he wasn't sure of. "I've only t-tried t-to help you… and you've only pushed me away. I… I'm a-afraid t-that if you don't start… start being kinder to m-me then I… I don't t-think I'll come back here."

She was just speaking from her heart. Sasuke couldn't believe the words that came out of her mouth. Such rhetoric. She was actually _threatening _him in a way. _"As if I care."_ He thought. His thoughts were usually as shallow as his behavior as they were just the thin sheet over a bed of lies and heartbreak. He wanted her there. He wanted her to stay for a long time but it just wasn't his thing. It wasn't his type of endeavor. It was hard for him to react to this. What should he say? He couldn't let it be revealed that he cared at all, yet he couldn't walk away. It hurt him too much. One thing he looked forward to, one reason not to destroy himself was the secret hope in the back of his mind that Hinata would return – even if it was for something routine and trivial. He would see her again; she'd have to come back. Now he was faced with something he dreaded more than anything. He knew that one day she wouldn't come back. He'd run out of perceived ailments and she'd run out of assignments. He'd have no reason to be in his midst unless he let it be known that he actually _wanted _to see her. For now he was content in his reluctance.

"Just what the hell do you want from me?" He scoffed in disgust. Not in disgust for her, but in disgust for his own weakness.

"I want… I want to buy you lunch." She said, not even really thinking. It was the last thing in her head yet the first thing in her head.

Sasuke finally turned around and entered the room, for which Hinata looked up and they met piercing gazes. She wasn't crying and he wasn't flinching. Sasuke predicted that this would be a long endeavor if someone didn't budge. He volunteered himself, for no particular reason other than the blatantly obvious.

"Where?" He asked, his eyebrows still knitted together in a fowl way.

* * *

How was this better in any way? It wasn't really.

Sasuke would have rather been at home bludgeoning a tree with his bare hands than sit here awkwardly at a cracked old wooden bar stool pushed up against a crooked wooden make-shift table at Ichi Raku's Ramen Shop. If there was a single thing in the world he despised more than people and human kindness, it was ramen. It was just a disgrace to food.

He felt like a child having been dragged here by that infernal girl. It was an embarrassment just sitting there in public where people could plainly see that he was eating low quality street foods.

He grimaced as the server placed two large bowls in front of him and Hinata. Hinata smiled warmly as steam wafted into her face. Sasuke caught a whiff of it and immediately decided he needed to push the bowl onto the ground. Despite that increasing desire, he didn't do it. No, that would be very predictable of him. Instead he sat there, staring at the disaster of a dish. On occasion he would glance up at Hinata just so that it was perfectly clear how very disgusted he was with this proposal. He found comfort in the fact that the sun was setting now and he could only assume that her confidence dwindled with darkness.

Hinata wasn't as shallow. Her focus did not lie in the food placed in front of her; it was in the man that sat next to her. His body was so stiff and straight standing like a baby tree. As much as she wanted him to relax and stop observing the situation so deeply, she couldn't expect it of him. She was nervous and overly observant as well. At that moment she found herself staring at Sasuke's nostrils, hoping to interpret whether or was enjoying the scent of the ramen she'd chosen or not.

If only he would speak to her, but alas, that was out of the question. She'd gotten him out of the house and she was well aware that she wouldn't be able to get him much farther.

She shrugged to herself, pulling apart the chopsticks that came beside her ramen wrapped in festive paper. There was nothing left to do but enjoy the food her tireless work at the clinic bought her. The only thing was, she had forgotten how hard it was to eat with Sasuke staring at her. Her stomach turned and she sighed once again, putting down her chopsticks and opting to stare into her soup as she'd previously planned.

"Wow, this is a sight." Naruto said with good cheer as he approached the shop spryly.

Hinata was blushing before she even met his eyes as he walked over and stood between her and Sasuke. This moment couldn't get more grave. Here she was, sitting amongst the two people in the world that she feared the most. She was fighting the urge to give up consciousness right then and there.

"How'd you get this bastard out of the house, Hinata?" Naruto asked her with a grin, leaning on Sasuke's shoulder as if they were old pals. He looked directly at Hinata. She also noted that his face was closer to hers than it had ever been before. This was the most significant insignificant moment of her life.

She blushed. "Um…" She couldn't even think of a response.

The only thought in Sasuke's mind was in regard to how foul the ramen smelled and how desperately he wanted to exterminate the world around him.

"Look how white he is!" Naruto laughed, picking up Sasuke's hand and waving it in front of Hinata's face with a chuckle.

Hinata was shocked. She was almost scared; she didn't want to be too close to Sasuke when he separated Naruto's hand from the rest of his arm. How did he touch Sasuke so freely and easily? It was like he saw Sasuke as any other person. No matter what ideals Hinata conceived within herself in the past so many years, she would never be so ignorant as to believe that Sasuke was a normal person. He was not superior. It took a while for Hinata to come to that resolve.

The truth was, he was extremely unusual. People fear what they don't understand so people feared him. Hinata found him so fascinating that she recorded her thoughts of each incident she shared with him. After a few weeks she realized it was just some type of strange, girlish crutch she utilized in hopes of settling the unsure feelings growing inside her but she wouldn't stop. It was like she was writing a definition of who he was in bullets.

She ultimately revered him, more so than she did Naruto.

"Good job, Hina." Naruto slapped Hinata playfully on the shoulder and her face exploded with color. Not only did he _touch _her, he called her _Hina_. Rather than calling her by her birth name he spoke to her in such an intimate way as if they were _close_.

"Uh… um." She blushed. Once again, she was utterly at a loss for words.

"I don't think I've ever been this close to you before." Naruto said absent-mindedly. His palm still rested on Hinata's shoulder as he leaned in a few inches closer.

Hinata was ashamed of how red she was growing just for the fact that she knew Naruto could see it. Furthermore, if he got any closer she would have no choice but to stumble and flail and flinch like a newborn deer.

"Whoa!" He exclaimed, scaring Hinata into nearly falling off of her stool. He stood up, finally releasing Hinata's shoulder and smiled. "You have really pretty eyes, Hinata!"

He was so honest and pure and kind. Hinata's body burned and she was sure she looked like a large tomato by now but none of that mattered. She was so absorbed in Naruto, he was simply immaculate. She had every reason to worship his likeness. He thought her eyes were _pretty_. That was better than anything she could have asked for.

"I… I… um… thank you." She stuttered.

"Hey, no problem!" Naruto beamed cheerfully as he continued on his path in the opposite direction. "Take care!"

Hinata was half relieved and half disappointed. Naruto seemed to come and go in a way that made her heart eager and loyal. She closed her eyes lightly in an effort to calm her nervousness. It had not occurred to her that Sasuke was still there.

Without a word he got up, abandoning both the girl and his soup and started on an unknown path away from that place. Hinata's eyes fluttered open alarmed by his sudden movement. "W-where are you going?"

He said nothing in return. Why should he? He did his part; he came out and "ate" with her. His portion of the agreement had ended and frankly he wasn't quite sure if he wanted her to uphold her half after that "elegant" display.

"B-but… But you said…" Hinata frowned. She admitted, it was probably her fault. It was her fault he was walking away and her fault she'd ruined her only chance at becoming close with him again. What could she do? No, really, what could she do? What could she say that would make a difference to him? "P-please… please d-don't go."

She felt all of the negative raw emotions that her body was capable of producing concentrate at the pit of her stomach and stir viciously. It was like she was living on a flow chart. Things went up steadily and plummeted faster than she could maintain them.

"Please." She whimpered.

Her pleas genuinely bounced off of Sasuke as if he was repelling them. He was done catering to her selfish needs. It was time to return to his.

Those would have been his ideal thoughts in an ideal situation specifically tempered for his mind and his disposition. However, that wasn't the case.

"If I spend another single moment in your presence it will be on my terms." He finally spoke. His voice was so hard and to the point that it caused Hinata to flinch.

He had such a colorful way of demanding things. Hinata swallowed the lump in her throat and nodded although she knew he was turned around and couldn't see her.

He didn't have to.


	9. Chapter 9

The only thoughts that ran through the feeble mind of Hinata Hyuuga were of the honor and credibility of the establishment into which the pair entered. The place was dark; well, it was past sunset now – incidentally it was the perfect time for Hinata to enter into this unsavory den of darkness. The air was thick and clouded with pockets of smoke. She had a feeling it would be so by the fact that the place was stuck behind a pharmacy. She'd never seen this building before in her life, in fact.

Sasuke walked through with no worry at all. As they walked past drunken patrons in the semi-lit room they came to what appeared to be the center of the entire operation. Sasuke sat at a bar stool and faced the array of luminescent poisons in front of him. Hinata, clueless as to what she should do, took a seat next to him. She was only slightly embarrassed by her struggle to actually get up on the chair. She was more suspicious and anxious about the whole affair than anything.

She'd never been to a place like _that_. What if someone saw her there? That would surely tarnish the family name. Hinata was a lady. She did not go to _bars _to consume mass quantities of alcohol, no sir. This was something akin to Ino or Sakura. Yes, she felt quite fickle and self-concerned having thought such a thing, but it was beyond her. Her stance on these things was just irrefutable. It was something she was raised to oppose, yet here she was. It just brought it to her eyes how far she was really willing to go to sit next to such a man. What exactly was he to her?

"A double." Sasuke said.

Hinata looked up and noticed a barista had come to attend the counter at which they were sitting. She was a big, burly woman, not someone Hinata recognized from the clinic. The woman turned to Hinata with an impatience expression. It finally occurred to the girl that she was supposed to _order _something.

Hinata thought for a moment. She didn't exactly know what people ordered in these places. She thought back to her missions with Shikamaru and her father's dinners.

"Uh… ehm… I'll have K-kuroshu… please." She stammered, looking up at the woman's gritty face.

The woman, instead of turning around and mixing some concoctions (Which is what Hinata assumed was typical of these scenes), stared at Hinata rigidly. Hinata didn't know what was wrong. She glanced at Sasuke who just continued to stare at the bottles behind the barista.

"Is that right?" The barista asked condescendingly. Hinata almost answered until she realized that the question was purely rhetorical and probably only asked to humiliate her. She didn't really need assistance in that matter, she tended to humiliate herself. After this, the barista turned around and began her process.

Sasuke tapped his fingers on the worn acrylic counter. This was all becoming a chore to him. He drank and drank quite frequently. It was no challenge to drown himself in alcohol. The challenge was sitting next to this girl, who had no idea where she was or what she was getting into. If she wanted to spend time with him, this was the easiest way to go about it.

"Here." The woman grunted artlessly. She placed a cup in front of Sasuke and one in front of Hinata respectfully. Sasuke, without inspecting the glass at all, began drinking. Well, it couldn't really be called drinking. It was something Hinata had not seen before. He… inhaled it – atleast he appeared to. It was amazing how he managed to do something so rough and unruly, yet place his glass down so gracefully. He was certainly cultured with the mannerisms of an Uchiha.

"Another double?" The woman snorted.

Sasuke nodded without really moving his head, another amazing feat.

Hinata looked down at her glass. She wasn't exactly sure what to do with it. She wasn't even sure if it was what she asked for. She'd never seen sake served in a low glass before. She shrugged, taking it to her lips to sniff it a bit. It didn't smell as foul as she had expected. To avoid any further embarrassment, she pressed the glass to her lips and began sipping the substance. It tasted… bitter. She wasn't one for drinking. In fact, she'd never touched a drop of alcohol in her life. This was something to get used to.

Next to her, Sasuke was served another drink. This time, instead of vacuuming it down his gullet, he took medium sips progressively. He turned to Hinata, his eyes glimmering with indifference and boredom.

"Hm." He muttered. It almost sounded like a chuckle.

Hinata suddenly felt sick. She knew this sound all too well. In the tone that it was presented in, it usually meant Sasuke had intentions of saying something snarky. In his head, he was already making a mockery of Hinata's entire life.

"Still harboring that old crush for Naruto, are we?" He snickered behind his glass before taking a heavy drink.

Hinata blushed all over. Was it that obvious? She had shared her feelings for Naruto with Sasuke long ago but she didn't expect him to remember, let alone bring it into conversation.

"I'll take that as a yes." He smirked. "Another." He commanded the barista.

On the bright side, this was the most he'd spoken to Hinata in one sitting so she was somewhat pleased. On the other hand, she wasn't delighted by how condescending he managed to be in any situation. Now she was the microscopic organism under the magnifying glass that was Sasuke's ruthless judgment. She squirmed appropriately.

"It's… its really n-nothing." She blushed. It was just her instinct to lie about the whole matter. If she couldn't deter these petty moments then she was doomed to revisit them later on.

"Seems like it."

And there was the punch line.

"I hope you realize he's an imbecile. He'll never return your feelings. He'll never even acknowledge them." He said bitterly. At this point, he wasn't concerned about why exactly he was playing with her so intricately. It was mostly to amuse himself. He simply picked Naruto as a point of entry because it was daftly easy to get to her using him. He didn't like to visit the idea that there could be a possibility of Naruto and Hinata ever actually… well, dating. He told himself there was no way, no possibility, no chance. Hinata was too… smart for Naruto. She knew better than to settle for him. And he thought this entirely as a bystander. He wasn't involved. He told himself he was a third party.

Hinata sighed. It was true. If she never told him, he'd most likely never know. She liked to believe that one day she would muster up the confidence to confess her feelings but that was entirely unrealistic.

"I know." She said solidly. Sasuke was even surprised. She spoke, she spoke without stuttering. That was something he'd not heard in a long time. Getting solid words out of her was scarce and unlikely. "I… I don't hope for that much."

Sasuke wondered if it hurt for her to hear herself admit that. But then he went back to not caring very much, or atleast telling himself he didn't. "Interesting." He mumbled. "Why try?" He challenged. He didn't just ask. He challenged her to answer. He wanted something more out of it. It was the way he said it that just suggested that he was irate about something in the situation. He wasn't sure whether or not this was true of himself but he proceeded.

"He makes me feel complete." She hummed, now staring up at the ceiling. The lights were so dim? Why have them on? What did they illuminate? What was their purpose? "He allows me to believe that… someday it may be possible to be so content, the way he is."

She took a drink from her glass and looked at Sasuke, inviting him to critique her life further.

He said nothing. He had no desire to bring her down any lower. He could, it was quite doable. However, after hearing that he didn't want to "break" anything.

"Have another." He said. He actually said it _warmly_. At this moment he took a long stare into her eyes. It had been so long. He hated those nostalgic feelings that swept over him; they made him want things that were out of his reach. With that, he motioned to the barista to serve both of them another drink. Luckily, the bar wasn't swarmed with drunken party-goers and average people this evening. It was a Wednesday night. The space belonged to those committed to the art.

She promptly brought another and placed it down in front of Hinata. Hinata even noticed more of a sympathetic sneer this time. Was she really that pathetic?

"I suppose…" Hinata said, drinking from her glass and staring into the dun, dim lights dreamily.

Sasuke's ears perked at the solidarity in her voice. He wanted to hear what she had to say if only to prove that it wasn't worth uttering.

"In four or five years I'll be betrothed… to Neji of course." She droned on as if the words that came out were meaningless to her. That was because they were. They held no meaning. She knew all of this; it was the simplest thing she could say.

Sasuke pondered. This time, he pondered before speaking. He was familiar with the inter-familiar marriage tradition of the Hyuugas. His family abided by a similar mandate. In the more recent years the practice seemed to thin out and was only found common among very wealthy, long-running members of the clan. When he thought about it, Hinata fell into the category. At any rate, the idea of Hinata ever settling down with Neji, much less any other man, made Sasuke's stomach turn.

"Because… I am a wretch." She said with her cup pressed to her lips so that it muffled her voice only slightly. "I am 23 years old now? Yes, nearly 24. I should have been given to a man at 17."

Sasuke nodded. He could not disagree. This was the truth. This wasn't exclusive only to the Hyuugas. This stretched throughout the entire village and villages beyond. Women married at young ages and went right to having children. Men met at clubs and discussed marriages between their sons and daughters and it was made a business. To be in your twenties and unmarried, as a woman, certainly wasn't a positive thing.

"You've had suitors." Sasuke argued subtly, not wanting to stir too much all at once. He wanted to prod just enough to get her to answer a few questions. It was entertainment for him.

Hinata smiled knowingly. "I've never married."

Sasuke didn't need to say anything back. He understood entirely and that was all there was. He glanced over to Hinata's side, noticing that she was now babysitting two empty cups.

"A whole round please." Sasuke directed to the barista who looked like she was waiting to pour something.

Hinata sighed. She wasn't smiling exactly. She was looking deep into the depths of her glass with an indifferent expression that only said her life wasn't in immediate danger. At this moment, she was confused about everything. Even more, she was fighting with herself. Why did she just tell him that? Normally she would just lie or deter his question in a way. This time he didn't even ask her to reveal the information that came out, she did it of her own will. That's what was bizarre.

"You're a little less brazen than you led me to believe." Hinata whispered, unafraid to look at him directly for some reason.

He said nothing. She traced the lines on his face that brought his mouth into a full, strong scowl. It wasn't a scowl directed to her. It was his usual, everyday 'leave me alone' scowl.

"You'll soon get over this notion that you're getting into my head." He replied stiffly. Greeting his newly served drink by pouring it into his mouth.

"It's not quite that simple." Hinata said with a blush.

"Well then, get over it." He scoffed. It brought Hinata back to the world of inadequacy and disappointment she'd been embracing as of late. "Drink your drinks." He mumbled.

That just brought it to Hinata's attention that the bartender had just brought them a whole tray of drinks. Whatever it was, it evened her out. She wouldn't fight a good thing especially not when she was already knee deep in its effects.

With that she wrapped her fingers around another glass.

"You'll soon find out that the world is a temporary pit of ongoing and perpetual misery." Sasuke said, his voice quite solid and listless. "I find it dreadfully boring."

"I guess that means I was just a means to an end." Hinata said faintly to herself, she meant it towards Sasuke but she would never say it to him. That gave him room to answer and she was terribly afraid of what he would say.

"You still are." He shrugged carelessly.

It didn't even break Hinata. It was impossible to bring her any lower than where she was now – or maybe it was the alcohol finally mixing up some neurotransmitters in her brain, keeping her from getting too far from the scape of Sasuke's judgment. It didn't hurt so bad after all. It never got worse. It didn't get better, but certainly not worse.

Sasuke snorted, picking up two short glasses from the tray placed before them. Hinata watched with glazed over eyes, her judgment desensitized. He took a short glance at both glasses before letting his head fall back and quite literally pouring the contents of one glass into his mouth, then the other. He did it seamlessly. It was somewhat of an art form.

"Ugh." He grunted after, placing the two glasses down with style. "Dry." He muttered to Hinata as if she had any idea what he was talking about. By now, he was beginning to blur a bit in her eyes. She decided to herself that she was a lightweight and could be easily subdued by alcohol. This was her first time drinking and she was already beginning to feel incapacitated.

"Another… double." Sasuke said, a bit of a gap between his words. Hinata noticed even in her condition how Sasuke was beginning to slow down. Even his last statement was a bit abstract, so unlike him.

"We don't got anymore." The manly barista hacked into her arm. Hinata stared deeply into the woman's face and begun to highlight every wrinkle and wart that crossed her face. She grimaced, she didn't mean to but at the moment she wasn't in control of her facial expressions.

"Give me something else." Sasuke spoke. The way he delivered his words was so condescending. He said it as if it was the obvious thing, as if she should have known he would want some other random drink of her choice.

"Ya' haven't even paid for the drink ya' got." The woman complained with her hands on her hips.

"Such a feminine gesture." Hinata added irrelevantly. She wasn't thinking as thoroughly as she would be normally.

The woman and Sasuke glanced at Hinata simultaneously, both silently agreeing that she was already out of the game. Seconds later they returned to their amateur staring battle. Actually, Sasuke had gone semi-pro by now. In his current state he was lacking in some areas.

"I could buy out this whole dump if I wanted," He grumbled, crossing his arms. "You wench." He then added with a smirk.

He was being so childish. This was something Hinata was well familiar with.

"Then why don't you, ya' drunk." The woman slapped the table in fury before submissively turning around and pouring Sasuke another drink.

"Here, this oughtta' shut you up." She huffed, slamming the drink down and shuffling away with her stubby legs.

Sasuke didn't even look at the drink; he immediately went to consuming it.

Hinata's eyes were barely open, watching all of this. It was just now catching up to her that she was in a bar at night with Sasuke. He was both her greatest desire and her greatest fear. She didn't know how to feel so she was stricken with her default nervousness and anxiety. She couldn't shake the feeling that something detrimental was fast approaching. She was so unsettled, so very unsettled.

"Thanks, wench." He slurred in anger, placing the cup back down. As soon as the cup made contact with the counter Sasuke put his head down against the surface of it beside the glasses and rested his body.

Hinata observed closely. This was such a strange sight. She'd never seen anything like this from Sasuke before. Right now she really had time to observe and admire the quality of his hair. The mid-length tresses glistened even under the dim light. It was thick, straight and healthy despite the fact that it was slowly graying prematurely all over. There was just something so sensual about the way it wasn't purely black, it was off. It was like the color in his hair got tired of being so harsh and softened. It was… beautiful.

He looked so still, as still as he looked when Hinata first set eyes on him in the hospital. She supposed that was just how he was. He was a very still person, like a statue. He really was a statue, he was like an idle. He was the peoples' idea of perfection. He was made to be worshipped. Then again, these thoughts were completely inspired by ulterior influences.

"I have to piss." Sasuke suddenly growled, instantaneously awaking from his slumber and digging into his pocket. He pulled out a wad of uncounted money. Even in her state of mind Hinata could see that he had grossly overpaid for what he ordered. She had no intention of stopping him though, and neither did the bartender.

"We don't got a bathroom, nitwit!" The burly woman called after him as he stumbled in a random direction.

"You're a worthless banshee!" Sasuke semi-yelled back in her direction.

"You better get your man, lady." The woman scoffed. "He's 'bout to tip over and crack his skull."

Hinata sighed but didn't object. She merely watched the woman collect and count the money Sasuke placed on the counter then stood up to catch up to Sasuke, as if she could even walk.

Sasuke headed for the door and made it out successfully without Hinata's assistance. In fact, he was out the door before Hinata could determine her footing. She looked around her to find that she was dead in the center of a small drunkard convention. She caught sight of the door and managed to continue on her path towards it despite the calls from the bar's patrons.

"Hey! Come over here, cutie!" One man barked. Hinata would ordinarily know better than to respond to the brutish advances of an old man but at the moment she didn't think about it thoroughly.

"Huh?" She muttered in confusion. She turned around to be met by the wanting gazes of a number of drunken, bearded old men. She grimaced; it was like looking into her future. Soon her choices for marriage would be down to such men. She shook her head of the thought.

"Don't talk to her like that, ya' pig. She's a lady." The man next to her snickered, bringing his hand up and about to press artlessly against Hinata's behind.

She jumped, blushing deeply. "Oh." She peeped.

"Come here." Another man slurred, drooling a bit from one side but Hinata highly doubted it had anything to do with her. He'd clearly gone past his limit for the night. He grabbed Hinata's wrist eagerly and pulled her towards him.

She objected by pulling her wrist from his grasp but he was quite persistent. He stood up clumsily, approaching Hinata. It was then that she realized just how tall he actually was, he was almost as tall as Sasuke. Hinata backed up cautiously just before he grasped her shoulder loosely.

"You smell nice." He snorted with a grin. Hinata could see how rotted and disgusting his teeth were. Just the gaps between his teeth, infested with scum and plaque made Hinata's stomach turn. He was some type of pirate, either that or a really uncleanly man.

"Look at her with those pretty eyes." The man behind Hinata called as he lustfully looked about the back of her.

"If you touch her again you'll be losing your hand." Sasuke seemed to appear in front of the scene.

Hinata quickly turned to greet his face in relief.

He was no longer slurring and stumbling. He stood tall, eyes focused and fierce. The men around her froze in what she presumed was fear. She was even still, she wasn't sure what was about to happen.

Sasuke grabbed her wrist roughly and pulled her away from the group, ultimately throwing her behind him. Luckily she landed on her feet and not on the floor.

"Oh, I know you." The man standing said drunkenly. He stepped closer to Sasuke. Just the motion made Hinata's heart stop. She'd never seen or heard of anyone stepping _closer _to Sasuke as opposed to running away in terror. "You're that _kid_."

His nose was just barely separated from Sasuke's. He was so close, still unsteady in his movement whereas Sasuke stood fully erect and unmoved. "You think you – ya' go on one mission and you're just so much stronger and better than everyone. Well I'll let ya' know, I've seen worse shit when I was doin' your job – and I ain't scared of ya'."

"He must think ev'ry woman in the village is his property as well, aye?" A voice heckled from the back.

Sasuke remained unmoved. Hinata knew this could only get worse.

"If she ain't yours, then what's it your business." The man spat drunkenly. "Now come here, girl." He said, pushing past Sasuke briefly and reaching for Hinata.

Without a second's notice Sasuke grabbed the man's wrist. It happened so fast Hinata didn't even see his hand make the transition. He pulled the old man in front of him harshly so that they met eyes. The man was now shaking with fear as he stared deep into the endless depths of Sasuke's eyes.

"I said, you touch her, you lose your hand." He said so sternly, grasping his wrist tightly.

Before the man had time to gasp in terror, the sound of his wrist and hand bones cracking could be heard throughout the bar. It was silent, no one said a word. That is, until the man let out a harsh, bloody scream. Sasuke didn't stop twisting until everyone there was sure the man's tarsals and metatarsals were completely useless to him. They weren't just cracked – they were broken.

Hinata had no idea in her mind that he literally meant he would break the man's hand. She thought he was speaking entirely figuratively. Surely the man's advances towards Hinata were not enough to permanently maim him. Were they? Or was this another dark corner of the reality that was Sasuke Uchiha?

When Sasuke finally let go of the man's hand, the man fell to the floor in agony. He screamed in misery and squirmed pitifully. The other men, and Hinata, though they observed in sympathy, wouldn't dare make a move to help him. It seemed as though Sasuke was in a killing mood. No doubt, no one would ever undermine him again.

After what felt like an eternity of silence, Sasuke turned around to Hinata without a sound. "We're leaving." He said, walking past her out the door. Hinata hesitated to follow him, as she felt as though it was her responsibility to help the man since she was licensed to do so. At the moment, she just didn't have the incentive. She ducked out the door behind Sasuke, leaving behind a stir of screams and panic and the angry ravings of the barista.

Outside Hinata spotted a unique puddle on the ground, blushing, she realized it was Sasuke's urine.

* * *

So yeah, kind of a bonus chapter because this chapter ended up being incredibly long for some reason. I wanted to make it all one chapter but then this chapter would be like 11 pages. So I had to divide it into two chapters so I don't bore you all to tears.

Anyway, the story is progressing slowly but surely. Please be patient with progress of the story. I promise, it'll get good. I used to submit on this site under another name so I'm not a fanfiction virgin so to speak. Also, I figure if I'm speedy with the updates I'll get more reviews so hopefully that will work. So if you're reading this, please take the time to review so my story can draw a little more attention.

All of your reviews are just so sweet and inspiring me and they really motivate me to work harder on my each chapter. So they mean a lot to me, don't stop! I appreciate my reviewers soooooo much. Thanks, you guys :3

You keep up the reviews and I'll keep up the chapters!


	10. Chapter 10

"Thank… thank you." She stammered as she walked a step behind Sasuke in an unknown direction. The night air was so thin, especially compared to the building she just left. The tension between her and Sasuke had even thinned. What he had done for her… it just didn't reflect everything he said. He was supposed to be hardened on the inside and out. He wasn't supposed to care. But what he did… and the way he did it revealed everything he tried so desperately to defeat.

Sasuke said nothing, he didn't even turn around. Hinata was not surprised. His moods changed so often, she saw this coming. They would ultimately close the night out with them splitting ways and him showing her no emotion whatsoever. Keeping it traditional.

"Do… um… should I just go home?" Hinata asked then blushed pathetically. Of course, where else would she go? Surely she wouldn't go home with him. What would they do?

He didn't answer. Hinata sighed. She supposed that was it. They would walk together in silence until they came to the fork in the road that divided Sasuke's home from the rest of the world.

She understood this to be true until he faintly collapsed in front of her. He dropped so fast and without any accompanying vocalization. He simply dropped.

Hinata gasped, dropping to his side instinctively. He was lying directly on his face. How did this happen? He was just walking. Was he unconscious the entire time?

Hinata managed to roll him over so that he faced the sky. She pressed her hand against his check and her palm near his nostrils. He was breathing, quite steadily actually. That meant he was just… drunk. Who knew Sasuke Uchiha was so susceptible to alcohol? He was human afterall.

She did all she could, she shook him. How else would he get home? She couldn't carry him and she certainly couldn't call the clinic to take him away. He had to wake up, that was the only way.

"Sasuke." She called his name and shook him vigorously.

After a few moments of desperate fidgeting, Sasuke's eye fluttered open. It wasn't exactly in sync with the other one. Seconds later the other followed and he shook his head gently, sitting up.

"Are you okay?" Hinata asked.

"Hm." He grunted, pulling himself up clumsily. He was seconds from falling over again. Hinata jumped up and allowed him to lean on her.

He seemed fine just a moment ago, now he was barely awake. This was a disaster.

"Take me to my house." He managed to murmur. Even in this condition he was making demands. Hinata exhaled, she wasn't in the best place herself to be dealing with this at the moment but what choice did she have?

Well, she didn't have one.

So she stuck it out. She nearly dragged him the entire way. Initially, he was walking with her and it seemed to be a group effort. It was like he was supporting her and she was supporting him. Half way there she realized that he was barely supporting his own weight; he couldn't even hold his head up. When they finally came up on Sasuke's flat, it occurred to her that he was no longer even supporting himself. His head drooped miserably.

Now, Hinata was burning hot and tired – both from the alcohol and from the task of carrying this massive man for an hour. So, panting, she stepped up on Sasuke's doorstep, barely even holding on to the prodigy anymore. "Okay, we're here." She panted heavily, wiping her brow with her shoulder as both hands were focused to the effort of keeping Sasuke's face off the ground.

He looked up at the door and Hinata was utterly shocked and confused just at the condition of his face. He was drenched in sweat; it was visible even in the moonlight. His collar and back were stained with sweat; it dripped from his nose and dampened his hair.

"Oh God!" She exclaimed in fear. She had no idea that being drunk made you sweat profusely. This man was nearly drowning in his sweat.

"That…" He breathed deeply in and out. He couldn't seem to catch his breath although he'd barely exerted any energy for the past mile or so. Each word was said with a great pause between it and the previous word. "That… bitch… poisoned… me."

Hinata frowned. That was preposterous, she thought. He was just speaking out of his condition; he didn't know what he was saying.

He detached from Hinata, leaving Hinata with a cold, damp feeling on one side of her from all of Sasuke's perspiration. He put all of his energy into pulling the door open as it weighed a ton. Hinata imagined his pain and exhaustion as the door wasn't easy to move. Even he struggled to pry it open.

When it was open he flung himself inside, stumbling and barely standing.

Hinata stepped in behind him. This was wrong, it was all wrong. This was not how she was supposed to go about things. This was not how it was supposed to work. Hinata just wanted to go home, back home where she was safe. She wanted to be safe in her bed, talking to Ino on the phone. She wanted to be in the clinic, wrapping up wounds and teaching Sakura how to draw blood. This was not her domain, it was all wrong. She was not supposed to be here with _him_ like _this_.

He stood there; it was a strange and remarkable sight. He was… bent over. He was bent over slightly with his arms dangling. His hair covered his face so Hinata could not see his expression although she was sure it was either blazingly angry or utterly emotionless.

The night air wafted in, cooling Hinata's back and simultaneously pulling the door shut less gracefully than Hinata would have liked. It actually slammed the door, which turned out to be the loudest thing Hinata had ever heard.

She stared at him. What was going on? What was wrong with this night?

"_Don't kill him!" Sasuke shouted through his gritty voice. _

_He looked around him only to find the same scene he'd acknowledged before his eyes moved. Two of his comrades tied tightly together with some type of harsh, heavy wire devise. They stared at Sasuke in horror. _

_Two men were lying on the floor, dead. One man's head had been cracked open, exposing his skull which fluid, blood and chunks of tissue seeped from endlessly. The enormous pool of blood had spread across the floor so that Sasuke was sitting in it. He felt selfish in the fact that when he saw the man killed, he only hoped that he wouldn't have to come in contact with the blood. Now he was sitting in it. There was no way out from this._

_The other man had a large hole in the center of his torso, large enough for Sasuke to stick his head through. The flesh and fabric around the hole was charred. The man's organs frayed and protruded over the severed flesh. Stray pieces of his large intestine and liver were scattered about the floor. Sasuke had a piece of the man's aortal artery just above his eyebrow. Unfortunately, his head was turned up which made him resemble a dead deer. His eyes were wide open._

_Currently another member of Sasuke's unit was met with the barrel of a gun between his eyes. Sasuke could do nothing about it as he'd been restrained with some type of metal apparatus that kept him pinned to the floor. He was left to watch in terror._

_The man holding the gun was a member of Orochimaru's sinister terror group. Something comprised of brainwashed and tortured individuals fighting to hold all the raw power available to human beings. Sasuke had met with Orochimaru once before. He had given Orochimaru many years of his life. He thought he was rid of him up until this point. Now he was literally staring into the face of that man's entity as one of his drones held a double barrel to his comrade's head._

"_Don't kill him!" Sasuke cried out desperately. It was the first time in his life he was sincerely begging for something, he was genuinely desperate. Now his fate was left to his voice and his voice was meaningless in this hell._

"_You will belong to Orochimaru or this insignificant piece of shit will get his head blown off." The drone said humorously, poking the man's head with the gun playfully._

"_Fuck!" Sasuke cried out._

_He would not surrender to Orochimaru. He wouldn't. No, he couldn't. He couldn't go back there. He was already too close. _

"_You miserable bastard!" Sasuke's comrade barked viciously, drooling and crying as he felt the cold pressure of the gun against his forehead. "What kind of man are you?!" The man cried hysterically, he was already beaten all over. _

_They were all bruised and bloody. Most of their skin was split in places. They're suffered just two days in this dark place, which they assumed was some type of death camp. It seemed like since they got there, they lost each man one by one. Someone life was taken left and right. It didn't only come down to them. They watched the persecution and beating of several prisoners from other villages. The torture methods were cruel and inhumane. Sasuke hadn't seen anything like this before._

_Every moment was filled with screams that reached nothing and no one beyond the steel walls of this confine. He'd seen women – small girls even, brutally and violently defiled then killed ruthlessly. He'd seen men ripped apart by boars and wolves, men electrocuted by some terrible torture device, children beaten and forced into slavery, men screaming and begging to be killed. That seemed to amuse them further; it just gave them all the more reason to string their lives along until that peak of utter misery where they could happily and contently slay them just like the rest. Their bodies rotted and decomposed right in front of the other prisoners. They were not cleaned up, not moved, not buried properly. Wherever they fell, that was their grave. He himself was filthy, starving and nearing insanity. Any man would be. His companions – well, they were long gone into insanity – those who remained alive that is._

"_Make a choice, Sasuke!" The drone cackled, swinging around the gun and teasing the person it was pointed towards. _

"_Just fucking kill me!" The man cried out, breaking his voice in the act. "Please. God, I just want to die!" He cried, his tears falling onto the floor and mixing with the blood of the two others in their unit. _

"_Make your choice!" The drone smiled slowly, moving the gun towards the ninja's eye and twirling it about different areas of his face._

_Sasuke said nothing. He always said nothing. He hated himself for it. He hated his selfishness. The selfishness he called devotion._

_That was it. There was no countdown or concession. The gun went off. It startled Sasuke, it stopped his heart. Since he'd gotten there he'd been more jumpy and nervous than ever before and he had every reason to be. He was constantly faced with the prospect of being killed or being forced to watch the brutal murder of other people. He'd soon be next._

_The man screamed brazenly. The drone had shot him in the spine. The angle he shot him from caused the wound to spray blood but it also caused him to retain consciousness. _

_After a few seconds the drone emptied his gun into the man, shooting him first in the neck, then turning around to shoot him in the face, then in the chest. Blood sprayed and splattered in every direction. The drone's face was covered in blood and tiny shards of skull._

"_Sasuke, you have to do something." Said one of the two other ninja who remained alive but tied together._

_It hurt Sasuke just to look at them, even more so than it hurt to see the execution of the noble man in front of him. They were hopeless. He was sure that they would die. They had to. He would not surrender. He would not sell his soul to that monster, not again, even if it meant the slaughter of every nin in Konoha. He would not walk into Orochimaru's arms._

_They would all have to die for that sake._

"I can't save you." Sasuke whispered tightly to himself.

Hinata stood there in confusion. What did he just say?

"What do you mean you can't-"

"I gave you my soul yet you took more and I knew that you might!" He whispered to himself painfully as his head swarmed with memories of the past. It wasn't yet gone from him. "And you – you, you were the one I let slip. I was the one who was strong enough to save you but I didn't. Where was I?"

Hinata took a step back as his faint voice grew louder, stronger, and angrier. He was talking to himself. Tonight seemed to reveal parts of him Hinata never imagined existed, surely he didn't either. This was just bizarre.

"Every fucking time." Sasuke cried out to no one. It was then that Hinata could see that his eyes were red. He was no longer in his usual state; he was battle ready with sharingan engaged. His face was even red, he was boiling with rage. His body shook unsteadily and he seemed to smirk, even now he was smirking. He chuckled distantly. "But it's all gone now." He said weakly.

"Isn't it?!" He shouted rigidly, throwing his fist through the nearest wall. It went through roughly, creating a loud noise all over. Dust and plaster particles flew through the air space and cleared to reveal an image of someone who once was Sasuke. His hair dangled limply with sweat, he panted persistently and his hand was crammed through a jagged hole in the wall.

It wasn't exactly a thin wall either. The edges of the hole were uneven and cracked. Hinata's eyes widened in suspense. This was terrifying yet she couldn't walk away or close her eyes. She could only assume he'd soon come for her and she'd suffer the same fate. Either way, she was paralyzed.

After a few seconds of painful and laborious silence, Sasuke pulled his hand half-heartedly from the wall. Hinata could see that he'd disarmed his sharingan, his head now hanging low. His hand dripped blood onto the dusty wooden floor; it was the only sound between them. Sasuke's body swayed uneasily as he brought his panting breath to calmness.

There was nothing.

There was nothing Hinata could say or do, and now that her mind was working her only instinct was to unstick herself and make a run for the door behind her. She was more inclined to cater to her elementary feelings. She wanted to help him, afterall it was her job. He was her friend, or atleast becoming her friend or atleast… He was suffering. She doubted anyone else had ever seen him suffer this way, she doubted anyone else knew. They'd think he was insane, a maniac. But no, he was… helpless.

She approached slowly, unsure of what Sasuke may throw at her as a result. Earlier he stunned her when she tried to use her Byakugan to see his injuries. What would he do now? Nonetheless she stepped closer cautiously. He didn't seem to budge at all, it looked safe.

"Get out." He whispered weakly.

Hinata halted. His voice sounded like… it sounded like he was hurt. It sounded like he was in some distress. How could she know what to do? His demands were the opposite of his needs. So Hinata stood there. She figured even her company loaned a source of comfort – maybe.

"Get out now." He whispered more sternly, covering his face. "Just get the fuck out."

"S-Sasuke… I-"

"Go home!" He shouted crudely.

Hinata jumped, that was all the convincing she needed. She made a turn and pulled on the door. It was less heavy now. Now that she was desperate to escape, now that her life was in jeopardy, now that she was confused and scared. She needed no invitation, no help to depart. She was gone before she caught another glimpse of that man.

She literally ran out, not turning back especially for the fact that in the background all she could hear was the bloody, awful cries of a broken man. He was so furious. No one deserved to meet his path tonight. Hinata was just thankful that she was getting away. She'd gotten too bold lately, she wouldn't take no for an answer. She had to learn when it was a good time to turn away, or else it would be her on the other end of Sasuke's fist and not the wall.

So his anger was not poignantly directed at Hinata, that didn't mean it wouldn't cross her path. It was plain to see that Sasuke was angry at some other entity whether it be himself or… How could she think about it? It didn't belong to her. Those thoughts were not hers to think. She wasn't supposed to see that. She was supposed to be at home. At home safe with her things, with her family, with her friends. She was not supposed to be running wildly into the night with her head pounding and her heart racing.

* * *

I'd just like to thank my readers for all the reviews. They are so very encouraging. I read and appreciate every single one so thank you so so so so much. I was so inspired I've been writing nonstop!

*gets on soapbox*

**Now I need to warn that in the next few chapters something is going to happen that will piss some people off most likely haha. I'm not going to spoil it but I will say that it's sort of an unexpected/expected mid-story twist - the important thing to take from this warning is: the "twist" seems sort of caustic but it doesn't affect the outcome (ending) of the story. It just sort of makes things a little more exciting. I've had this story mapped out for quite a while before I started writing it and I think this part adds a bit of controversy/excitement. It won't be the next chapter but the chapter after that - so by chapter 12 you will be completely thrown off/furious but I urge you to please continue reading despite the fact that you might not like the things that happen. Be patient with me and you won't be disappointed, I promise.**

That is all for now.

*steps down from soapbox*


	11. Chapter 11

"_It's different!" Hinata blurted out, sitting on top of a mound of soil. She'd been handling Sasuke's mother's garden, thus needing a mountain of soil. Sasuke, being rejecting yet unable to say no, fulfilled the need._

"_It's not." Sasuke sighed roundly, standing on the ground just below the small mound with his arms crossed. They were engaged in yet another heated and pointless conversation about the incestuous nature of their clans. Well, it wasn't heated – it was more like lukewarm. Hinata wasn't much for arguing, as much as Sasuke enjoyed shooting down opposition. She was more cultured to gradually accepting the jarring ideas of others._

"_It is… ehh… sort of." Hinata rambled, fiddling with her fingers as her eyes searched the dim, dreary sky above her for an answer._

"_How?" Sasuke urged on, calmly awaiting her weak response so that he could instantly disregard it as false or irrelevant._

"_Well…" She hesitated as she went through her head for ideas. "It is… um… well… it is customary – it __**was **__customary. T-there was a time when Hyuugas only married Hyuugas. Now… it is, well – there was a time when many clans married only members of their specific clans… that is, many clans in Konoha… even the Yamanakas." She had no idea why she used Ino's family as an example; she was just looking for anything to build her argument._

"_That's a disturbing image; Ino marrying a male Ino… I shudder to think." Sasuke grimaced crudely in his ill humor. _

"_That's just it – I mean, you see, we no longer… ehm… practice this." Hinata said as strongly as she possibly could._

"_Yes, this is why you're the product of incest." Sasuke remarked. _

_Hinata sighed; there was no getting around his jeers. He had to be correct about everything. The thing was she didn't mind all that much. She accepted his ways and even learned to enjoy them. She made herself useful by making Sasuke feel all the more intelligent._

"_Not exactly… I mean, my parents were double second-cousins." She corrected knowledgably._

_Sasuke thought about it, even he was confused. "It all amounts to them being related." He said more jaggedly this time. _

"_Very loosely." She huffed. "It would be the same as – well, if I married Itachi and Hanabi married you. We are siblings and you are siblings. Now, if two sets of cousins married and then their offspring married – or likewise, one offspring married one cousin – they would be double second-cousins." She explained, confusing even herself. _

_Sasuke didn't speak immediately. He was still focused on figuring out what part of that analogy irked him so much. He felt misplaced. Something about him wasn't in the right. After pondering it for a moment, he allowed his mouth to do the explaining for him. His immediate and unaltered response was, "Why would you marry Itachi?"_

_Hinata paused. That was a bizarre question. The marriage pairs weren't exactly the highlight of the story; she was mostly explaining the system. "Um… well, it doesn't matter very much. I… I could m-marry you… and Itachi could marry Hanabi." She blushed. The obvious answer was that she'd never make the comparison with her paired with Sasuke and she was mentally saving herself from that discomfort. It was too late now._

"_Why would Hanabi marry Itachi?" He continued._

_She paused once again. She couldn't find anything to say. Why wouldn't she? It was just an example. Sasuke would ordinarily mock her rhetorical skills and dismiss her intellectual value. Here, he was taking the analogy seriously. _

"_I mean… it's just… it was a simple… sort of connection to make…" She trailed off nervously. This was going nowhere fast._

_Now bitter silence became constant between the two. Sasuke stared at her angrily and did nothing to mask it. But what was he so mad about?_

"_I just mean-"_

"_Should you ever put me in a similar category to him again, you'll regret it for the rest of your life." He spoke steadily. It was painfully visible just how much anger was welling up and boiling inside him. His fists tightened and he ceased to blink anymore._

_Hinata was frozen in fright as usual. She didn't know what she did. She only used them together in an analogy. Did he hate Itachi so much that he did not want to be mentioned in the same sentence as him? Well, if anyone was capable of such a vicious hate it was Sasuke. _

_Still, that solved nothing. He was still standing there, nearly trembling in anger and she was still sitting on top of the mound of soil in utter fear and anxiety._

"_I… I'm sorry." She whispered. Hinata was just now noticing how thick the air was between them. _

_It was hard to get Sasuke out of these tough spots. He wouldn't budge and she wasn't surprised that her apology made no effect on him whatsoever. Sasuke wasn't easily moved by much of anything. _

_There was nothing left she could do but sit there. She was able to stupidly sit there, staring at him as he stared at her. She was once again an insect under a magnifying glass. She was getting used to it, learning all the best techniques to stay irrelevant to Sasuke's eye. She just couldn't shake the fear that someday her silence and obedience wouldn't be enough to keep him calm._

_Rain began to pour down just so softly, just so softly that the faint sounds of Hinata and Sasuke inhaling and exhaling the same air was drowned out by the pitter-patter of rain drops hitting the ground. Hinata glanced up, secretly thanking the almighty for bestowing this relief upon her. Someone out there knew she was in a corner. _

_Rain drops seem to fall right at them, as if they were meant for them. It was like it was raining no one else but there in that exact spot at that exact moment. The heavens were raining down on him and her. _

_Hinata pulled her hand up and when she caught side of the mud beginning to form under her fingernails due to the dampened soil she immediately decided to slide down the pile. She did effortlessly and patted her behind; trying to remove any excess of soil from her back though it was a futile effort. By the time she looked up Sasuke had given up his motive of staring her into submission. He was now turned away with his head slightly lowered and his hair dangling delicately above his face._

_Hinata observed in silence. She wanted to say something, she wanted to make it better but she was afraid it would be useless to him. She was useless to him. Even now, she caused him more sorrow and turmoil than she knew anyone was able to. Beyond that, it wasn't her that had caused the turmoil – it was the existence of an entity that was out of her control. Itachi stirred up emotions in Sasuke that he'd blocked out and abandoned long ago. He didn't know how to handle them now; they just brought him to a dark place. Well, a darker place. _

"_I'll… go." Hinata said faintly, wanting to disappear into the dark and familiar horizon. She didn't want to be the one who made him hurt. _

"_Stay." He whispered. It was barely audible yet it was heard louder than any noise around it. _

_And Hinata, she was a humble girl. She was a humble and obedient girl. She stood behind him, not daring to step up next to him or in front of him. She was where she needed to be at the moment and where she would remain for quite a while. _

_It wasn't that Sasuke felt as though he was superior to her – at the time that was what Hinata believed. It was simply the fact that Sasuke refused any help he was offered. He would rather believe Hinata was just "hanging around" and wouldn't leave him be than accept the fact that her company was heartwarming and he needed her in a way. _

_Even that small aspect of vulnerability terrified him. _

**He is very sensitive about Itachi.**

**If you mention Itachi he will become enraged.**

**When he is sad he becomes quiet.**

**He refuses my comforting.**

**I asked him if I should go but he said to stay, so I did.**

**He does not condone inter-familiar marriage.**

* * *

The door shutting behind Hinata only remarked about her excellence in opening the door. That just meant she'd made it to Sasuke's home and managed to get the door from the closed position to a position of adequate openness to let her squeeze through.

So, she didn't knock. She took what liberties she could. There was something inside her that told her that Sasuke would not answer even if she did. Regardless, she was there. She was there and that meant something. She didn't know what happened the night before, not enough to keep her away. Her memory was patchy and she ultimately learned that the mass consumption of alcohol does not improve the fortitude of the brain. She also learned that crooked bartenders will serve you off-brand liquor in lieu of whatever drink you asked for. Altogether, she learned that Sasuke may be collected but he's an individual plagued by vices. That was why she carried her hospital-grade first aid kit like it was her suitcase. It was in a way. It held her tools, the things she needed to fulfill her duty – wherever her duty lied. As of late, she'd not been doing the best job in keeping her Hippocratic Oath.

The high-pitched whine and squeak of the door hinges rubbing against one another until the door shut with a thud brought it to Hinata's level that she was in Sasuke's house uninvited. It was like entering with West Wing. She was walking in a territory where she had no place existing.

Despite that, the house was the same as she'd remembered it. It didn't transform into a horrid, evil lair upon her departure and return to the conventional setting upon her arrival. Sasuke didn't live in a bat cave. His dark, lived-in home was as dark and lived-in as it usually was.

Hinata walked through the house, each hesitant footstep tracing a thought of fear. She peered into small rooms and corners in search of him. This time, she was actually searching for him. What a world. There were so many corners and rooms in the house to be ducked into. It was certainly a complex facility. His family built it with their bare hands. That meant every room had a specific individual purpose, even the small stalls and closets. Each was another domain for something from Hinata's nightmares.

She didn't need to search long. She wouldn't go upstairs; she wouldn't even traverse to the other side of the house. Whenever the two would have visits here, Sasuke found his home in the center of the house. They say a home is haunted when the heart of the home cannot be felt upon entering. Even in the dark soot-covered mansion, the heart could be felt beating. It was an instantaneous yet unsteady beat. It was like searching for something unfindable. Except, Hinata knew where it was.

Go straight. Ignore the dark sun room. Ignore the dusty dining room with the 10-person table. Ignore the sitting room with the television that no longer worked. Ignore the hole in the wall where Sasuke's fist had gone through. Ignore the lounge with the sink that leaked at all times. Ignore the open floor that led outside to the training deck. Ignore the trail of dried blood drops on the wooden floor. On the left there should be a narrow opening, one that has no earthly business being built in such a fashion. Though it looks thin, far too thin to walk through, walk through it. It will go on for twelve feet exactly until it opens up into a massive round room. There on the sofa, Sasuke could be found.

Hinata stopped before fully entering the room.

She wasn't sure if he was asleep or just resting. Either way, he breathed calmly and his chest heaved up and down without panic. His hair was sprawled about his face and his body was deathly still. One hand dangled to the floor. Dried blood covered most of the damaged skin. Just under the hand, a small puddle of blood formed on the floor. She also noticed small marks and smudges across his dark blue shirt, leaving even darker dollops of color staining in a pattern.

"Sasuke." Hinata whispered. She was a bit ashamed of herself because she intentionally whispered it in a way that would not allow him to respond even if he was awake.

She decided then and there that her effort was futile. He didn't respond, his ears weren't keen enough to detect her call in his sleep – therefore he didn't need her help and she would get off scot-free. There was no more to be argued, she began receding into the tunnel from which she came and walking away from that scene at the quickest rate she could muster.

"Hmmm… Hinata."

What? What was it she just heard? It was like… he said her name. She couldn't think back and remember the last time he said her name. Did he ever? She stopped in her tracks to listen for some other utterance but none was made. That was mainly because she was entirely too eager to hear something from him – to hear her own voice spoken so softly in the same tender way. She drew closer to him in hopes that he was calling her, calling out to her. He wanted her near afterall.

"Sasuke." She whispered again, this time more softly – more longing. It came out without her consent yet she did nothing to stop it. It was on its course.

"Hm." He grunted restlessly. Hinata stopped all movement and watched him closely turn over on the couch. He fussed a bit with himself, mangled up on the couch and struggling to become comfortable. His wounded hand grazed the surface of the couch and the corduroy fabric brushed his cuts roughly. The pain sent his senses reeling and his eyes clenched together tightly. "Agh." He groaned, inhaling harshly.

It startled him to his wake, his eyes opened stiffly and they scaled the room in great confusion. He never slept out of his room. He knew why he was there, though. He remembered everything from the night before, every detail. He was particularly keen when it came to remembering instances that marked the loss of significance in his life. From then it didn't take long for him to find Hinata's face above him. She just stood there in the middle of his living room.

He didn't know if she was an illusion of the manifestation of his memories. He blinked a few times. It was the verification that he so desired.

"Uhh… I… I'm sorry." Hinata said nervously. "I j-just wanted to m-make sure your h-hand was okay."

Sasuke closed his eyes lightly, rolling over thoughts in his head. Oh yes, that was it. That did it. It brought him back to the scene last night: his vengeful assault on the dry wall in the hallway. He brought his hand to his face, stretching out the fingers so that he could see the whole thing. It burned a little just to stretch the skin. Between each finger were tiny cuts and his knuckles were bloodied and swollen. The entire hand was covered in white, powdery asbestos – which he was sure wasn't good for the wounds. It was all real.

Hinata watched him helplessly. It was plain to see that the man had not yet gone over the part of the night that involved self-mutilating his hand. He stared at every scrape as confused as a child. Finally he ended his inspection with an, "Oh."

"D-does it… hurt?" She asked.

He frowned. "No."

"Oh…" Hinata hummed. She then held up her first aid kit for display. "Well… I can… uh… wrap it for you… if you want."

"No." He responded solidly. It sort of drew Hinata aback. She didn't expect him to be so forwardly negative. Last night he was so welcoming and now he had returned to the usual brute he portrayed.

"Oh."

The day seemed to be filled with 'oh's.

Well, that defeated her motive. She had so many other things she wanted to say but was so fearful. At the same time, there was so much she wanted to do for him that was impossible by the stature of his rejection. He didn't want to be surrounded by people and she'd become educated with that idea since they first became acquainted. So what was left to do? Of course, Hinata was not responsible for what happened the night before. She should have felt no inclination to care for him but her reasons went beyond just that. Most importantly she wanted to know what bothered him so much that it spun him into a fit of rage. She had no place asking such a thing but she was there and she'd never forget what she saw.

"L-last night…" She spoke softly, fighting the urge to withdraw into herself. "Y-you s-seemed to be… um… disturbed."

"Hm?" He responded stubbornly.

Hinata caught on quite quickly. This was just another tactic of his; the old 'the-action-that-occurred-between-us-you-only-imagined-occurred-between-us-and-I-have-no-knowledge-of-it' switcheroo.

"You… you were yelling… at n-no one." She told him. There was something odd about reminding him of something she knew he was already aware of. "And you… well; you know… you hit… the wall."

Sasuke wrinkled his nose and raised a brow as he stared past Hinata into the blank space behind her filled with bookshelves pressed up against rotting wallpaper. This place had a certain smell. Something like death.

"Are you going to bandage my hand?" Sasuke muttered quietly.

His voice was so withdrawn and mild. It threw Hinata into another pool of confusion. What was he, a lost puppy?

"Before I get impatient." He added tactfully.

There he was. Hinata smiled weakly. She accepted it, it was something atleast. Still, she wanted to know what happened more than anything but it was clear that she would not learn today. He would just continue leading and misleading her until the method successfully deterred her insistent prodding.

"Yes." She responded warmly, coming closer to him and kneeling beside the couch where he was lying. He offered her his hand and she accepted it meekly, looking over it delicately.

"This w-would certainly b-benefit… from s-some ice a-and a hot t-towel."

* * *

Due to the pressure of my reviewers (you know who you are, you little shits haha) I decided to post this chapter earlier than planned. I felt bad D: Maybe I shouldn't have announced the "twist". I just didn't want you guys to read it and completely abandon hope in this story. So hopefully you guys will consider everything and keep reading until the end.

Also, someone asked if I had the other two chapters written. Yes and no. I always post a chapter behind so you can assume that if I post a new chapter, I've already written the chapter that comes after it. This way I make sure that the story flows correctly and I can commit myself to seeing this through til the end. It's been working well so far :)

So next chapter you'll all be reading this "twist". To hint, it's something that is reasonable. It's not completely obtuse and out of the way with the rest of the story. However, it's not something common that you've read about it other stories. To be blatantly clear; no, it is not a Naruto/Hinata related plot turn. Rest assured that I'm taking good care of this story and doing my best to keep you guys interested. I don't want to betray your faith.

Thanks for your reviews, they're all excellent and I appreciate every last one. I know I need not thank you guys with every new update but it just really means a lot to me that you guys take the extra time out to do it :) Thank you so much.

Until next time,

Guytar's Ukulady


	12. Chapter 12

"This place is a dump." Ino snorted distastefully when she came up on the Uchiha's family home with her bag of medical supplies and the list of instructions Hinata had left her.

She was gone – to Suna. She was called to address the wounds of some ninja there and had half a mind to turn it down. When the idea came around that she was indeed the only person who could possibly identify the hurts on them, she felt inclined to do so.

In her absence she'd sent Ino to see Sasuke in her place. Of course, she didn't exactly have to visit Sasuke. That was not her duty. What was her duty was administering a low dose of cortisone to the affected area every two weeks to maintain the initial dose. It was no wonder no one in the clinic would volunteer to do so in Hinata's absence. Sasuke was all too difficult. He enjoyed intimidating people so much that he'd put it in front of his health if it so pleased him. Nonetheless, Sakura offered and was turned down. She could not hold a needle and would most likely either annoy Sasuke into performing some horrible act of mutilation on her or force him to hide in some dark corner for fear of sexual harassment. Hinata believed there was something in her manual about not sexually coercing the patients.

After all else considered Ino stepped up and offered to try her hand. She agreed to administer the shot and nothing more. Unlike Sakura, Ino didn't stand for as much. She was married to Shikamaru and had no desire to be with anyone else anymore. To add, she wasn't much for being the target of the "clever" jokes of others.

Ino stepped up to the door, aghast at the stature of it. Why would anyone have a door so tall? The key hole catered to some old-fashioned type of key – which she did not have. She shrugged, looking around at the broken rafters and spider webs connecting one another. What now? She pulled out the long, descriptive manual Hinata had left her. Hinata had clearly thought about this very thoroughly as her directions were three pages long for one ten minute affair.

"Ignore the key hole. Sasuke never locks his door. If the door is locked there is a key in the mail slot." Ino read carefully then looked up at the door. "Okay…" She said cautiously, grabbing the door handle and pulling it only to find out that it weighed more than her most likely. "Damn. You're a tough one aren't you?" She took the handle and pulled it with all her might until it was cracked enough for her to slip through.

It shut behind her with a loud bang. She stood just after the door and looked about the home. She'd never been in Sasuke's house before. This was one of the things she dreamed about when she was a preteen. She thought he lived in a castle with handmaids and loquacious tea kettles. Well perhaps that was a bit too much to want. Nonetheless she never imagined him living in a dark, dreary and unkempt extension of the devil's closet.

"Do not pay any mind to the disorder of Sasuke's house. Do not try to clean anything. Do not touch anything. Do not walk into any rooms unless instructed. Do not yell. Do not run. Blah blah blah blah blah blah." Ino read over the instructions purely annoyed by the specifications on the sheet.

Ino looked all around the room she stood in. It was some kind of foyer or atrium adorned with book cases and a carved wooden bench, something you don't ordinarily see inside a house. On one of the shelves there sat a dusty oriental porcelain cat sculpture. Ino stepped up to it curiously. "That's old." She said in disgust, picking it up and grazing her thumb over the hard dust and mildew that covered it. "Yuck." She frowned, placing the cat in its proper place and wiping her palm on the side of her skirt.

"If you do not see Sasuke immediately upon entering you can find him in one of three places. I've listed them by the likelihood that he will be there. They are arranged from most likely to least likely." Ino read and raised a brow. "Well, that's obvious. She thinks I'm an imbecile or something… First try the family room. Do not move on to the second location until you've checked the family room. To get to the family room: Go straight until you get to the sun room."

Ino shrugged and walked straight, periodically looking back at Hinata's directions.

"You will pass a dining room with ten chairs and a sitting room with a television. Do not attempt to turn it on as it no longer works." Ino read, looking to her side and noticing the dining room and the sitting room just as Hinata noted. She was amazed at how conventional the furnishing was. She'd never imagine that the Uchihas owned designer couches and tables. While many of the things in the home were obviously hand-crafted and one of a kind, many followed a trend of popular and elegant brands. "The Uchihas sure had expensive taste."

"Will come to a hole in the wall. Ignore that as well. It will be fixed shortly… how am I supposed to ignore a hole in the wall?" Ino said as she came to the hole. It was obvious by the shape and size that someone had taken a limb through it. No matter, she wouldn't waste time pondering it in her head.

"You will come to an open floor with no furniture to fill it, continue straight from there." She read, peering up to find that she was in the exact place that Hinata had intended. The odd thing about this particular area was the fact that the floor was shiny and appeared to have been cleaned as did the glass doors that seemed to lead to some private training deck. It was also the only place she'd seen so far that actually allowed natural light to come in. It was very bright within those twelve foot boundaries.

"On the left there will be a narrow hallway, continue down the narrow hallway." Sure enough, there it was. Ino walked up to it suspiciously. "I can't get through this thing." She grumbled to herself as she crammed herself between the two walls.

"It will open up to a large family room. Depending on the time, Sasuke will most likely be sitting on the corduroy sofa." She sighed, glad that she finished the directions.

"What the hell are you doing?"

Her head darted up from the paper faster than it ever moved. Right in front of her there was Sasuke, staring. He was weird. She didn't know what it was but he lacked some finesse that he used to have. Now he was just… strange in her sight. He was tall, pale and emotionless. Well, okay – he wasn't _exactly _undesirable. He was just… different.

Sasuke glared at her. He was fighting the urge to enjoy his post-training nap when he'd heard someone stomping around gracelessly in his house. If he cared he would assume that it was a ghost or some type of spirit come back to reconcile the past. His parents perhaps. But he wouldn't foster that, he'd rather it be a sinister robber come to steal his family heirlooms. To be frank, he was bored, so very bored. What was there to do in that infernal place? He didn't want to leave yet he hated the stay. Looking at it it's probably safer to assume that he hated everything.

"Calm down." Ino snapped bitterly. She pulled out her instructions once again to show Sasuke. "I was sent here by the hospital in Hinata's place."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes in suspicion. Where was Hinata? He wouldn't ask. He despised her so long as someone alive was there to hear about it. "For what?" He asked stalely.

"Cortisone shot." She said holding up the medical case she was given by the clinic if only to disprove his probable thoughts of her second agenda. "Otherwise I wouldn't be here."

Her adding that part just sparked more intrigue in Sasuke's head. She didn't seem to be very engaged. Not only that but whilst tracing the shape of her body he caught sight of her composition. Ino had changed quite a bit since their time being acquainted at the academy. He knew her as a teenager as well and found her to have progressed through puberty in the most pleasant of ways. It was never something he acted on, he merely considered it on several occasions but decided against it. If he'd slept with her at 17, he'd most likely be deflowering her – then she'd never leave him alone. But by now she was something like 24; surely she'd lost it to some poor fool. Why not? Afterall, she had so much to offer – and he was bored.

"Okay." He agreed steadily after a few second of thought and stepped into the room with Ino following behind him.

Ino rolled her eyes; she was already annoyed with Sasuke's attitude.

Sasuke sat on the couch knowingly and watched Ino as she reluctantly placed and instructions and the medical kit down on the coffee table. When she opened the medical kit and began to pick out the supplies she needed, Sasuke was able to catch sight of her posterior assets. He certainly didn't feel guilty. He felt like somewhat of a 'pig' so to speak. It was trivial, very trivial for him to lust after a woman but Ino was not just any woman. She was arguably the most physically favorable of all the young women in Konoha. Hinata was definitely the most desirable; she was gorgeous, intelligent, innocent and noble – but Ino, she spoke for herself.

"Here." Ino murmured, concentrating on poking the needle through the vile to draw out the medication she needed. "Pull up your shirt." She ordered and stepped closer to Sasuke.

Sasuke obeyed, grabbing his shirt by the collar and pulling it off effortlessly then tossing it aside on the couch. He glanced up at Ino, fantastically aware that she was most likely melting inside. He would have hoped but hope was not a matter when it came to things like this. He knew she would desire him, he needn't any verification.

It was true. She found herself pausing for just a moment as she became fixed on the art of Sasuke's exposed chest. Every part of it was a masterpiece and it was clear that he'd spent time perfecting his body. It was unfathomable how he managed to appear so thin with his shirt on when he was so muscular underneath. She found herself just a second later needing to remove her eyes from their lustful position. Her eyes snapped up to his only to find that he was inspecting her glances very carefully. That was the worst thing that could happen. "Um…" She swallowed nervously. "Turn around."

Sasuke nodded, turning around to expose his back.

Ino could feel her heartbeat speeding steadily but surely. What was happening to her? It was like she was 12 again. She tapped the needle gently to be sure that it was secure on the syringe and leaned over to do the deed. She pressed her palm against his back and shuddered at how muscular and defined it was. Surprisingly she managed to get over that bit quite quickly. After that it took no nerve at all the find a sufficient place and stick the needle in, press the tab to release the cortisone, and pull it out.

"All done." She breathed out shakily. Now it was over. She could leave and no longer have to look at his teasing appearance. Ino turned around and closed up the medical kit, throwing the syringe and empty vile in with the rest of the equipment although she knew it was probably a caustic mistake and deathly unsanitary. She had to go. "Bye."

"Is there a train you're late for?" Sasuke smirked, standing to his feet behind her despite the annoying twinge of pain that shot through his spine.

"Is there a 'mind-your-own-business' convention you're late for?" Ino remarked. She was so quick with come-backs usually. She also didn't enjoy confrontation and often wouldn't take no for an answer so she wasn't particularly pleased at Sasuke's probing.

"How quick of you. I bet you feel very clever, don't you?" Sasuke leered teasingly. He was fishing for some type of conformation that she was feeding into his act. He knew it would come, he was just hoping it would not take more than one day. He wasn't willing to revisit this; it wasn't like he was dating her.

"Bored are we? Feel the need to berate others, do we?" Ino turned around and sneered at Sasuke. She was above his games. She crossed her arms with a half-grin, anticipating his next witty response.

Sasuke chuckled, perking Ino's interest. "Berating you would be a waste of ample time to do absolutely nothing."

"Mm fascinating." Ino hummed sarcastically. "Well, as much as I'd love to sit in whilst you 'knock me down a peg' I kinda gotta get back to the shop – so have fun debating with yourself."

Then he kissed her.

Many steps were skipped between the time before the kiss and the moment their lips met. That was no matter. Sasuke didn't need to lead her into a false sense of emotion when what he wanted was in front of him and he had no restraints to keep him from obtaining it.

It wasn't very personal to say the least. It wasn't even passionate. It was just somewhat rushed and uneven. Ino was shocked but still couldn't find it in her to battle the desire to remain just the way she was, currently with her lips pressed against Sasuke's. She wasn't expecting him to just kiss her out of the blue. It was all like one of her teen fantasies. However, even though it was what she'd wanted and she hated to end it – she had two people in mind that wouldn't allow her to continue guilt free.

She pulled her lips from his with great effort. "Sasuke…" She panted heavily. "I'm married."

"You're stunning." He whispered, his eyes never leaving hers. He was good at deflecting challenging interferences. He knew Ino was married, he was observant enough. If the thought of her husband had once crossed his mind he would have still tried with her.

"Thanks…" She replied. "But I can't do this to Shikamaru."

"I can." Sasuke asserted, placing his palm against Ino's face gently and pulling her closer.

She resisted the best she could, shaking her head to deny him. "He doesn't deserve this."

"Who exactly is Shikamaru to me?" Sasuke spat viciously. "Surely this isn't the worst possible thing to you. Let me fuck you, you'll enjoy it and it will end. Then you may go home and be with whomever the hell you choose. What about your common life do you expect this to alter?"

"Are you crazy?" Ino pouted. There was something about Sasuke's condescending tone that made her sick to her stomach, and something about it that filled her entire being with unshakable desire. Her honor was certainly put in question. One thing about Ino was that she had a huge chip on her shoulder. She refused to be disrespected and was so adamant about it that she almost wanted it to happen just so she could express her hate for it. "I'm not some spineless, submissive little girl like Hinata. If you want something to stick your little penis-thing, you ought to go out and pursue a prostitute. I hear Sakura's available." Yes, she threw Sakura under the bus so to speak. She wasn't exactly critical of that. To be perfectly clear – Ino had no knowledge of Sakura's sexual history.

"If I wanted that swine I'd have her." He snickered. She just didn't know yet. She was at his mercy. She was a toy on a string.

"Oh look, he has standards." Ino tilted her head sarcastically. Ino was impervious to a lot of things. She loved a good argument. The only thing was, so did Sasuke. In fact, her adorable notion that she was winning this argument aroused him to no end. So she could keep up and it was certainly refreshing. It just ended with him wanting her more than ever. Ino had no thought in her mind that she was really losing – she never lost. This time she was losing terribly and it hadn't even occurred to her. Sasuke wouldn't let her walk out of there without first getting what he wanted from her. "That's sweet. I don't suppose you'll be marrying me as well."

"You must think you're superior to the other worthlessly born entities in this village." Sasuke laughed. "You're just a superfluous component to an already complete apparatus."

Ino furrowed her brows. She actually had to think about that. So what was he saying? She was a part of a machine? Ino was a good person; good at debating, good at gardening, good at fighting – but she wasn't the brightest girl in the world. She'd come very far from her time at the academy but she still wasn't very studious. She was only slightly sharper than Sakura and only slightly more clever than Hinata, which was why she fell into the 'older sister' notch. All that didn't matter here. She knew there was no way she was as smart or clever as Sasuke. He was a loner; he had ample time to think up cruel and hurtful things to say to people. Arguing with him was like yelling at a rain cloud. No matter what she said back, it wouldn't deter his remarks. He had other intentions and he would ultimately win their game of wits. So long as she left with her pride and dignity, she would be just fine.

"I don't follow." Ino smirked slyly. "You seem to enjoy being alone so I'll leave you to it." She gathered her things from the table in a bit of a stir. She was shaky and nervous. Why wouldn't she be? Although she felt as though she'd kept him at bay and would escape soon enough, she couldn't shake the feeling that Sasuke had another way. He always had another way.

"It's funny." Sasuke chuckled, effectively drawing Ino's attention. She turned around curious as to what madness he was cooking up in his twisted head. "Do you think you can replicate this feeling elsewhere?"

"What feeling?" Ino fed him curiously. She was baited so easily. She wasn't like Hinata; she didn't look deeper into the things Sasuke said. Her inner depths were thin to be exact, she assumed everything was as simple as it was said – cut and dry.

"The feeling that someone desires you." He smiled and took a step closer to her so that his neck was at level with her face and he could feel her panicked breaths against his Adam's apple.

"I'm married." Ino replied immediately. If someone married her, someone surely desired her. She didn't know what Sasuke was getting at but his logic was flawed.

"Oh, Shikamaru?" Sasuke laughed. Shikamaru was such a joke. Sasuke had some sense of respect for him, he was an intellectual. He was most likely the only person on earth who could best Sasuke in a battle of the mind. His personality was horridly dense. He'd just lucked up and pursued Ino before she had much to offer in the physical department – or any department for that matter. When she finally blossomed he was all she knew other than Sasuke. Sasuke made himself scarce and never bit onto her obvious pleas for attention, though he appreciated her body as much as any common human with a male attachment would. Something Sasuke knew about Shikamaru was that he was distant, far too distant for Ino to employ. He pursued her without rest for quite some time and Sasuke didn't need to be around to know that things between them had settled to a stop. Ino, being the stupidly faithful offspring of traditional Konoha values, adored Shikamaru endlessly and vowed her undying devotion to his existence. "How often do you feel his eyes tracing every curve of your body?"

Ino blushed. That was a romantic line. No matter, he was still wrong. Wrong, wrong, wrong. He didn't know anything about her and Shikamaru. How could he? They had a very intimate relationship, just an uncommon one. It was true that lately Shikamaru had made less of an effort to speak sweetly to her and he wasn't very interested in her as often as before. He was busy and she knew that. She fought the feeling of being unwanted daily and kept them tightly poised behind her eyes. People only knew what she would tell.

"You're off your meds." Ino remarked, feeling her warm breath stiffen the hairs around her neck as Sasuke drew closer. At the moment she was so close to Sasuke that her forehead was almost touching his lower lip and every word she said met the nape of his neck neatly. "I know what I'm worth."

"Hm." Sasuke laughed once more. "Not nearly enough." He spoke softly.

The quiet of the room closed in and a cap formed over Ino's thoughts. It was all becoming too hard, much harder than she'd first intended it to be. She chuckled bitterly. "And I suppose you'll be putting a ring on my finger after? You'll be making me more important than I once was? I don't need you – or anyone else to make me feel important."

"Of course you do." He said, his hand finding the curve of her hip and sliding slowly upwards. "Tell me, Ino. Is it customary for married women to dress so… sparingly?"

Ino's body began to heat up at a steady pace.

"Are you saying that you don't covet the desire and lust of others?" He growled gently against her ear. "Better yet, that you don't desire the acceptance and acknowledgment of others? You try so desperately to prove yourself to every single person. Even now you're attempting to disprove my belief that you're as common and unintimidating as everyone else. It's futile. I know all sorts of things about you that you do not know about yourself. And I know that you want to be wanted more than anything; wanted by me, wanted by Shikamaru, wanted by every man in this village."

Ino swallowed. It was strange. The way he was speaking to her entranced her in a way. It was therapeutic almost. It was like hearing her own thoughts repeated to her in the truest, rawest fashion. "So… what is the difference between you and some pervert peeking through my window? What makes you so different?"

"Not different, better." He whispered against her neck before landing the most soft and provoking kiss on her neck. It was barely a kiss. It was more like his lips just barely brushing against her skin. It sent jolts of raw desire through her body. He was like a drug. Like every touch from him was a dose of raw, unadulterated emotion that elevated her spirits and clouded her mind.

He knew she'd given in when her hands met with the exposed skin of his back and grazed over the entire surface. It was so warm, as warm as she'd dreamed it to be. He was nothing like Shikamaru. He was more muscular, more forceful. He was something she wanted deep down. The questions that filled her mind were pertinent and persistent. She blocked them out the best she could. For now she tested her beliefs and strength. They were easier to break. The body wants what the body wants. At the moment her senses were overwhelmed by the warm, hard feel of Sasuke's body and the undeniable masculine scent that he emitted.

Sasuke did the same. He just didn't think about it. It was a no-brainer. He felt up and down her body, just affirming what he already knew. Physically she was majesty. It would have been a crime to deny himself of her. Her skin was so soft, so feminine. She was the epitome of the perfect woman; long hair, slender, soft, pale skin, smelled of flowers. If only she were mute.

There was no more to think about. He pulled her into his arms and kissed her again quickly and lustfully, to which she didn't object.

She returned it with intense longing. No argument available at hand would deter him. She also had no reason to try. Technically what he wanted was what she wanted but was too stubborn and guilty to admit. In this case, temptation won and she proceeded. Unbeknownst to her; she didn't actually have a choice.

Sasuke separated from her to spare himself from suffocating. His chest heaved up and down as Ino watched it in its glory. He pulled her arm and flung her onto the couch roughly then took a place on top of her. He kissed her neck laboriously as his hands roamed over her body. It felt wonderfully good to fulfill the desires of his eyes. She was so curvaceous – almost as much as Hinata. Leave it to Ino to wear a skirt so short that access to her undergarments was freely given even when unintended. She was a married woman yet she dressed like a newly 18 year old girl. She wanted some kind of attention and Sasuke was here to provide it.

It pleased him even further how simple and easy it was to get her going. She was laying there moaning and panting amorously when Sasuke had barely done anything. It was good for the situation. He had no intention of taking this slow or making it last. He wanted to get off from it. Hinata gave him endless desire that he could barely control and now it was pent up tightly. He didn't want Ino; he just wanted to have sex with her – if she enjoyed it, which was a bonus.

He tugged on the collar of her purple fitted shirt gently at first. Then he gripped it with one hand and pulled it downwards until the seams popped and it tore.

"Ouch!" Ino exclaimed from the pain of the shirt tugging her neck downwards. "Hey! You're tearing it!"

"Don't talk." Sasuke commanded sternly, making a motion to tear away the remaining tatter of her shirt.

Ino was silent as he did it. She'd soon forget the shirt. She'd soon forget a lot of things.

There they were, Ino's exposed breasts. Sasuke took a moment to examine them properly whilst her nipples perked eagerly to the cold air wafting around her body. He had to admit, they were a bit smaller than what he imagined. They were pale, Ino was very fair skinned, and devoid of any flaw whatsoever. She was a woman who took good care of herself and the man in Sasuke admired that.

He wasted no more time in that type of concentration. He returned kissing her with a beastly desire, one hand manipulating her breasts and the other tightly entangled in her hair. She moaned out loud with no vice to restrain her. The thought of Shikamaru seeing or finding out about this plagued her but was appropriately covered with unaccountable pleasure. Sasuke knew what he was doing. He wasn't a lifeless prude; he'd obviously had sex and had it many times before.

He brought his lips down to pay attention to the defined slope of her breasts and her excited nipples. She really was a work of art; she needed to be properly ruined.

Ino threw her head back as a wave of desire flowed over body. It all felt so right. It was like Sasuke was the key and she was the lock that desperately wanted to be opened. He fit just right; he was perfectly created to fit her lock specifically. She'd waited so long to take this road with him. Along the lines of many years she doubted if it was right, if it would feel as good as she'd dreamed. She was wrong – it did. It felt better than she expected.

Nothing could replace the feeling of seeing the crown of Sasuke's head moving lower and lower down her torso. Her chest heaved up and down. Sasuke's hair slid up and down and all about her skin, it was so soft, so clean. Every part of the house smelled of him. The scent surrounded her and engulfed her nervousness.

His tongue made its way downwards and licked smoothly around her naval which was left uncovered for all to see. He always found that to be the most erotic thing about Ino. She never ran and hid. She was not ashamed of her body and left it open to invite the worship of every slothful pervert in the village. She knew she was more aesthetically pleasing than average and it was like her trophy.

Sasuke's chin met the hem of Ino's violet mini skirt. To his dismay, he slowly trailed his hand beneath it only to meet some type of built-in shorts connected to her skirt and denying him access to what was underneath. He truthfully didn't want to get naked. He wanted it to be more of a quick, easy, over type of deal. Afterall, Ino had managed to get in without him noticing – who knows who else would pop in? Most were too scared to even step on his property but there was a first time for everything. He hated to say he cared about Ino's marriage and that, given someone found out about this whole affair, it wouldn't behoove him to see Ino cast out as a whore. Unfortunately, he didn't want to have to be the one Ino clung to if such a thing were to happen.

"You're not making this easy for me, are you?" Sasuke teased humorously, making Ino blush deeper than she'd ever blushed before.

Sasuke just laughed – sort of. That was something uncommon. Actually, she didn't think she'd ever hear him laugh. Not only that but his hand was up her skirt. That was when she felt a jolt of guilt across her heart. No, she was making it _too _easy. It only took five minutes of convincing for her to throw away her marriage and give herself to this man who'd rejected her for years. Oddly enough she couldn't walk away. There was a voice in her head that just kept reminding her that it wasn't just any man. It was Sasuke. He was better, it was justified. Somehow, it was okay.

"Well, it's designed for training." Ino responded. "Just not for this type of training."

Sasuke smirked, biting his lip. His appetite was growing. He brought his hands to the spandex waist of her skirt and tugged it down to her knees in one swift pull. He took time to appreciate her frilly, white panties. They fit her brilliantly; she had all the right curves. Turning around to pull off her skirt, he had half a mind to administer a bit of oral _treatment_. The only problem was, an act like that was entirely too intimate. He was sure she understood exactly what this was and wouldn't be disappointed to miss out.

Ino's heart quaked underneath her ribcage. His eyes were so alluring as they systematically examined every part of her body down to the hairless shine of her legs.

He shook his head. He was taking more liberties than he intended. He came back up and kissed her once more in a sloppy and thirsty manner, there really was no such thing as "enough" in this situation. So he had a long time desire for Ino? Literally, he asked himself. He always thought she was attractive, physically that is – but he never thought he'd get engorged in every small feature of her body.

As Sasuke kissed her passionately, and Ino's body quivered underneath, he hastily stroked the damp spot in her underwear. His fingers quickly made their way underneath to hurriedly massage her and try to make an estimate on the form of her sex. Just as he'd guessed, it was soft and petite – and moist, though he knew it would be.

He pulled his hand away, separating from Ino for just a moment in order to sit back on the couch. Ino watched his hands in all her weakness as he unbuttoned his navy pants with ease and unzipped the bronze zipper in what seemed like a single motion.

"Take your hair out." He ordered, his eyes darting to her head.

She nervously brought her shaking arms up to her hair. She didn't know what he was talking about until she felt that her hair was tied in a pony-tale as it usually was. She was at a complete loss. She'd even forgotten that. On the up side, it exposed one of Sasuke's many "hidden" preferences. He liked long hair. She quickly and apprehensively pulled the tie from her long straight hair. It fell in a disorganized manner across her shoulders.

When Ino brought her eyes back to Sasuke she noticed his hand was… elsewhere. It was stuffed in his underwear, making seamless defined motions underneath that she could not see… but desperately wanted to. She licked her lips, ridding herself of all tenseness and sitting up. She reached for his pants. "I'll help you." She offered her hand at the opening of his zipper.

"Take those off." He responded as if he hadn't even heard her last statement. Ino froze for a moment then resumed her last stance, lying back on the couch. She reached down and pulled her panties off indulgently, almost embarrassed at the stain that showed up on the seat.

"Spread your legs." Sasuke commanded, drawing closer. Ino did just that, no thought crossed her mind to give her reason not to.

Sasuke adjusted the waist of his shorts just a bit, openly fumbling with the item he had inside. Ino couldn't help but stare. She couldn't look away. She was absorbing every second of it. It was the most satisfying pleasure, watching him touch himself.

Sasuke merely eyed the finely open hole between her legs. There was nothing left to surprise. Ino was exposed in front of him, every part of her – every part he cared about. He wrapped his fingers around his member, swollen with anticipation, and pulled it through the available opening between his unclasped zippers.

What more was there to consider. He leaned in; taking her wrist in is hand forcefully and pulling it above her head to gain leverage. He took his penis in his hand; it throbbed endlessly, and poised it in front of her.

"Wait!" Ino cried. She swallowed the lump in her throat as her eyes stuck to his member. She thought it terribly cliché but it was… well, it was just bigger than she'd expected.

"What?" Sasuke groaned in irritation and impatience. She was fortunate that he even cared enough to ask.

"That's not going to fit." Ino said in a hurry, pulling her wrist from Sasuke's grasp. "Sorry, it's… it just won't work."

Sasuke snickered expertly, taking a short glance down at what he held in his hand. He didn't really need an ego-boost but that would suffice anyhow. "I'll make it fit." He growled, retaking his place on top of her with the tip of his manhood barely against the wet opening of her womb.

"Sasuke, don't." Ino squealed, squirming underneath him.

"Stop whining, it's not even in yet. You wanted this, remember?" Sasuke whispered against her neck with one hand entangled in her soft blonde tresses. "Do you want this or not?" He asked. He sort of felt required. He didn't exactly have to, especially since he'd first intended to force it, so to speak.

Ino thought expeditiously. Her mind bounced around, first stopping at one reason to do it, then another not to. No matter what combination of unleveled ideas she created in her head, it always came back to the facts, what was real. She was already there, he was there. They were in position for it and she was ready, more than ready. Thinking anymore would be a waste of time although she'd given up that austere quite a while ago. "Yes." She swallowed, bringing her hands to his back and digging her nails into his skin gently.

"Hold your breath." He exhaled with a grunt. He held Ino's thighs with both hands and slowly moving his hips inward so that he was entering her just barely. Another twinge of arousal overwhelmed him as he felt her body shift uneasily under his weight. He released one hip and held himself so that he went in at the rate he desired.

"Shit!" Ino whispered to herself with her nails digging a trail down Sasuke's back. She couldn't recall a similar feeling since her first time with Shikamaru on the night of their wedding.

He made small thrusts in and out until it was about midway in, then he pushed the remainder in until she was completely full.

Ino finally exhaled. She was already sweating. This was just a bit more than she thought it would be.

Sasuke noticed her pained expression and grinned deviantly. She was as inexperienced as… well, Hinata. Why did Hinata just cross his mind? He shook his head. Hinata didn't matter. She was not here. He couldn't forget that she was truly his vice of arousal. Then another thought reared itself into his head. Why would he not try his hand at Hinata rather than releasing his lust upon Ino? Was it because Ino was easier? Maybe. She gave in but she did really put up some matter of a fight beforehand. He was sure that Hinata wouldn't have even protested. She'd be far too scared, far too unsure. So why was it that he could find it morally permissible in this case but not the latter?

At any rate, he was not much for therapeutic conversation. "Don't worry, it'll be the best you've ever had." He growled in a low, sensual voice as he held Ino's hips in place.

Sasuke wiped his brow with the back of his hand as a gust of cold air swept around his body. He ran one hand through his long, black hair. His sweat slid through his fingers. A thin layer covered his body, emitting a fantastic glossy shine all over.

Ino closed her eyes, trying to catch her breath. There was no way to recollect and process everything that just happened. She'd come over to give Sasuke medicine as a favor to Hinata and how she was laying naked on Sasuke's couch with her mascara running and her hair sticking to her forehead. It was all coming out now, reality. There's something strange about sex. You want nothing more than to be intertwined with the person no matter what the stakes are. Sometimes you can resist and sometimes it is impossible. Whether it is wrong or right, it all ends in the same way; two people lying next to one another in a sweaty mess of limbs. It smells horrid. It is sweaty, damp, sticky, and gritty from head to toe. Your mouth tastes awful. Your hair is now curling up with moisture and emitting an uncomfortable muddy scent.

The person before her she no longer considered to be an idle. His body was no longer something to be worshipped, it was just a body. He was just a person. A god surely wouldn't make love to her. He was as ordinary as anyone else. His fleshy member still hung there as excited as it was before and in some way it confused her. He was just a man, and if that was true then there was no reason to want and covet him so. There was no reason to idolize him. That wasn't the case here. No. There was something about him that made him worthy of coveting, that made him worthy of ideology. Even here, in his rawest form, he was better than anything Shikamaru could ever amount to.

It stirred her. It stirred her every thought of humanity, of home. What was the point anymore? What solidarity would she find in coming home to Shikamaru? What was the pleasure? She'd have to come into his presence with mangled hair and smudged make-up. She'd have to fabricate some lie to constitute why she appeared as so. She'd have to lay with him as if she'd not already been with another man far better. She'd feel fearful and ashamed when he entered her, having some conspiracy that he could feel the difference. No matter how he performed, he still would not be able to compare. She admitted that their marriage was no longer pleasing to her; Shikamaru was no longer useful because he no longer fulfilled her greatest need; to be wanted.

Everything rushed back into her head and flooded her psyche. Clear pictures of her flaws and faults came into perspective and allowed her to realize just what she was. She was not only an adulterous; she was an unfaithful partner, a liar, a weakling, an ingrate, and the worst excuse for a companion she could recall. Ino knew better than anyone else – she was actually the only person who knew that Hinata was especially affectionate towards Sasuke. She felt more than platonic love for him. She cared for him beyond her duties at the clinic. She loved Sasuke in a way that Ino was not capable of, no one was. It was clear to Ino that Hinata was who was meant for Sasuke. She needed him and he needed her. How could she betray that trust? How could she be so enlightened yet so ignorant?

"I'm getting out of here." Ino said, her breath getting caught in her throat as she pulled herself up from her pathetic position and kneeling over to collect her underwear. Sasuke watched her in a daze.

He was as unsure as her, he just felt less. He couldn't figure out why what he just did was so relieving. He just felt a certain uncommon release. Being with Ino was actually comforting. She shuddered and shook and fumbled nervously. He was in control. She was here with him and he was in control. With all that bombarded his senses, his _emotions_, Ino had this way about her that made his harassing thoughts feel so far away.

It came to him then, as he watched Ino struggle to pull her shoes on, that he realized he could not let her go. "Where are you going?"

"Home." She mumbled. "I have to open the shop."

"Stay." He spoke softly, standing up to come up behind her as she combed her hair the best she could with her fingers.

"No." She responded immediately. "I really have to go, Sasuke."

"Be true with yourself." He said, tugging at her shoulder so that she turned to face him. "You've got no shirt on."

Ino looked down. Oh, yeah. That. She wondered if he'd torn her shirt on purpose for this very reason. There was no possible way she could maneuver through the town whilst her shirt was ripped open, lest she wanted the entire village to see her exposed.

As she moved her head back up, Sasuke placed his palm on her face with care and drew her into another kiss. Ino even knew something was peculiar about this particular kiss. It was soft, not rough or rushed. It wasn't like he was trying to devour her face. It was as if he really wanted her to stay.

Eventually the guilt broke Ino's composure. When she really thought about it, this entire plot was obvious. She knew Sasuke to be this fierce, aloof force of nature who needed no other person. He was better; far too important by himself to need the company of anyone else. Just how lonely could Sasuke be? He rarely left his home, in which almost his entire family was brutally slaughtered. He was captured at war and had to fight for his life. He even found his way back to the village when he was barely conscious. He'd seen things most people couldn't imagine just to come home to his old quarters and rot. There was no parade of people eager to hug him and bring him back to sanity. No one really seemed to care and neither did he. Perhaps that was a façade. Perhaps he was lonelier than anyone could fathom. Maybe he needed her right now.

"I'll stay." She smiled half-heartedly. She'd been defeated by her conscience and she left it that way, atleast for now.

Sasuke released her from his grip, appearing to show no emotion whatsoever. How could he be so needy yet so unfeeling? Ino didn't know, she just couldn't fathom it. She wanted to reverse her smile but she couldn't find it in herself. She just thought it was what he needed.

* * *

Phew that was a task to write. It's basically about 3 chapters in one.

So I hope you guys like it.

It'll probably be another week before I post a new chapter as I literally worked on this one until about 3 minutes ago. It's still not "polished", I don't really polish anything I write for spelling errors, typos, etc. But it's here! :D

So yes, there it is - there is the "twist". I'm sure some of you are deceived/disappointed/hating my guts right now but eh, it'll get better I promise.

But yes, thanks for all the reviews from last chapter.

To answer a question that will inevitably come up 4,000 times in the reviews: NO, Sasuke will not "date" Ino at any time in this story haha. Egh, I just couldn't imagine them together. I love Ino as a character, she's like a less annoying/patronizing Sakura. I just don't love Sasuke and Ino together. They just wouldn't fit haha.

So yeah, there it is. Now go review :)

-Guytar's Ukulady


	13. Chapter 13

Hinata had to admit that she was happy. She was happy about the fact that she'd just gotten home from her medical mission baring new scars and the off scent of sand and mildew. This wasn't the first time she had to depart for a mission to heal masked faces. In fact, she'd gone on massive missions that lasted weeks for the sake of helping the helpless. She never felt anything different coming home.

Of course Hinata was relieved when the unit made it to the gates of Konoha and they reported back to the Hokage only to be systematically dismissed and go their separate ways. It just didn't hold any real value. What did she have to come home to? She felt more useful in a far off desolate village healing the skinned knees of children.

Now things were different. She had someone to come home to – in a way. Sasuke was there. He was in Konoha. He was someone she had a reason to return for. Maybe all of this was her being swept up in her feelings. She'd missed him on her four day mission. It seemed trivial but it was true. She'd thought about him the entire time, wondered how he was. She knew Ino would take good care of him so long as she managed not to verbally abuse him beforehand.

Hinata even realized she resembled the perfect archetype of a mindless vagabond, seemingly wandering around the village with her head in the clouds and a bag in her hand. It didn't really matter. That was the strange thing. She found herself stepping specifically on every stone that paved the road which went all the way down the center of Konoha. On the left and right neighborhoods were formed, shops were built up and Hinata's memories drifted into the atmosphere.

As a girl she only knew how to get to her home, Kiba's house, Shino's house, some of the local shops and… Naruto's house of course. She never really made it past the midpoint of the central road until her teen years. She didn't know what was back there. It was too dangerous. Later she found it to be trees, trees and Sasuke's family's compound. That was enough to keep her away. Now it was the only thing that got her going.

She walked breezily past the Yamanaka's flower shop, making a personal note to thank Ino for taking good care of Sasuke hopefully. She turned to acknowledge the beautiful blooming chrysanthemums that were in the window with a smile. They were brilliant. The Yamanakas all had green thumbs. They had a way with making things grow. Ino smelled of flowers at all times. It was something pleasant that Hinata knew to be unbeatably attractive about Ino.

"Hey there." Mrs. Yamanaka, Ino's aging mother, smiled as she came out with a potted bundle of white daisies in hand.

"Hello." She smiled fondly in return. She remembered going to the flower shop daily just to go up and see Ino in her room. Since then Ino moved out and lived free from sin with Shikamaru though one would think that she lived alone. Shikamaru was rarely around when Hinata came over. Sometimes Hinata thought it hurt Ino. She sympathized with her. It was like being abandoned by someone who'd promised never to leave.

It wasn't long before Hinata came to the split in the road where she'd be met with the choice to go either to her family's massive compound or Sasuke's. The choice seemed clear. One side was covered by trees casting shadows across the entire side. The other side was covered with sunlight and the movements and meetings of happy people could be seen over the horizon. She had two bags in her hands, one filled with her clothes and the other filled with medical supplies.

She knew she ought to drop those off at her home and her father would probably be pleased to see that she was home. She didn't leave everything to rational thought. Sasuke could wait but her father could certainly wait too.

Hinata wasn't apprehensive about walking down the long, narrow and dark road to Sasuke's house. She didn't much care for being cliché but she swung both bags at her side in anticipation of seeing his face. It was moronic, yes, she was moronic but there was nothing she could do to help it. She had an emotional connecting to Sasuke that she could not deny. He was a true friend. She let him see dark, desperate parts of her that no one had ever seen before. He had to be.

From there the sun shined just as well. She was on her way to see the most important person in her life. Just thinking about it made Hinata blush. She knew she shouldn't be so sure of herself. She was acting as if they were married. What if she got there and Sasuke wasn't even home? Actually he had to be, he only left his house for two things: booze and more rigorous training. At this time in the day it was far too early to drink, although he'd train at any time.

Hinata wondered just why he was so addicted to training. It was like he continued to push himself to get stronger and stronger when he was already the best there was. He was trying to defeat himself. Perhaps it just kept him busy and gave his life purpose. They say you shouldn't peak too soon.

She came up on Sasuke's manor in what seemed like no time. The make-shift trail cleared by his father that led to his house was covered in the changing auburn leaves of fall. It was starting to get cold. Hinata loved summer especially. It was around the time that she met Sasuke, really met him. Fall was something she always found it hard to come to terms with. Bad things happened around Fall. Sasuke left her for his mission six Falls ago, he didn't return five Falls ago, and since then each consecutive year has held more heartbreak and disappointment than the last – but she knew this year would be different. Sasuke was there.

It brought her mind back to the ground when she realized she was basing her happiness entirely off of the presence of Sasuke. Things weren't like they were before and she understood. Still, she hated the fact that Sasuke had changed so much. She wanted him to be the way he was before, when they were friends. Hinata prayed that deep down, somewhere in his being, he was the same person. She hoped.

She reached the door, a bit startled by the crunching of leaves under her feet. They just intimidated her. They made her count her steps in her head. The closer she came to the door, the more it felt like a bad idea. Was it wise to walk into Sasuke's house uninvited? Well, she'd done it before. Why did it feel so different now? She assumed it was guilt; she didn't even tell him she was leaving. She just ceased to come over and sent Ino in her place. How irresponsible of her. Sasuke was her duty to maintain and she sent Ino to perform her duties.

Shaking her head of the thought, she stepped up on the porch. It was done now, if she thought of it forever she'd never get past the threshold of his door. It was in front of her, as tall as she could recall. The task of pulling it open was fiercely dreaded. No doubt Hinata realized she'd have to get past the door to even get in the house. The pessimistic voices in the back of her head wanted the door to have gained hundreds of pounds and to be therefore unmovable.

Her bags were dropped onto the porch, a small puff of dust and dirt coming up to greet her. She wrapped her fingers around the cold steel door handle and pulled with all her laughable might. It turned out to be a bit more difficult than what she gauged it to be. She had half a mind to stick her foot in the tiny crack but knew the massive door would probably break her tiny appendage. Then what would she walk on? She couldn't risk it.

These were the thoughts Hinata found to be sincere and contemplative.

Taking her other hand to the door handle, she pried it open with a harrowing effort. The wood creaked painfully in her ear as she gritted her teeth together. With her bottom against the open door she leaned over to grab her medical case. She fixed it in the opening of the door. If the door could not close completely that would certainly eliminate some of her labor in opening it.

Hinata slowly entered the house and the door creaked to an ajar position. As she planned, it didn't close completely with the hard medical case in the way. Success.

The house had not changed a bit. It was as dark and dusty as it was before. Sasuke really needed someone to come and clean-up for him. There wasn't even a point in taking off your shoes as custom called for, the floor was already filthy. He had no woman around to keep the home. Hinata smiled to herself. Maybe one day… she'd get to clean Sasuke's house for him. Perhaps she could be around… perhaps she could keep the home.

Something on the davenport just to the left caught her eye. The short curio cabinet was adorned with hideous little sculptures that Hinata most likely couldn't afford to replace with her life. It wasn't the sculptures she was looking at, though. There was a thick, folded stack of papers crammed carelessly between the oak-carved woodpecker and the porcelain bonsai tree. It looked terribly familiar. She pulled it out with minimal effort and slowly opened it up.

"The instructions I wrote for Ino…" Hinata shrugged. Shaking her head she straightened out the packet. She'd spent all that time writing down solutions for every possible problem Ino could run into and Ino most likely didn't even follow them. She should have known. That Ino was a lawless woman.

So as not to confuse, Hinata did believe in the competency of Ino. She was sure Ino knew how to give a shot. She also knew that Ino's mouth was like an unstoppable force. Had Sasuke said something to her in a sour tone, she'd either argue him into terminating her or she'd give up and walk away without ever giving him the shot. If she happened to come across a blood-splattered floor, she knew which one happened.

Not a single sound could be heard coming from down the hall. Hinata would think him to be out training if she had not already seen his only pair of sandals lazily thrown on the floor by the curio cabinet. She moved on down the hall on her usual route to find him. He was almost always in that big, round room. The significance of it, Hinata wasn't sure but she knew it was sort of a safe haven for him – a shelter. When things went wrong he retreated to it, probably because it was so hard to find. He felt invincible in there. But what could he possibly be hiding from?

When she made her way down the narrow hall and entered the room there was no one there. That was odd. Well, not really. There was so many more places in the house she'd never set foot in. Not only was it a family home but it was a meeting place for the entire clan. The gigantic complex was filled with libraries and offices and bedrooms and meeting rooms and training decks and meditation enclosures. Sasuke's mother was fond of gardening and she had an entire acre of nothing but lilies and oleanders. Everything the Uchihas did was grand and unnecessary. Sasuke probably wasn't even acquainted with every room in the house.

Hinata remembered Sasuke showing her several routes one day. In that particular room which she stood there was a secret door under the area rug that led to a massive underground portion of the house where the servants slept and secret meetings were held. On the left were two doors; one was a bathroom and the other housed a safe, hidden stealthily under the family's sacred lineage scroll. On the right there was a conspicuous staircase which led to the second floor. There was also one near the immediate entrance. To estimate, there were probably ten or eleven other staircases leading to the second floor in the house. Then again, Hinata had never been through the entire house.

She'd never even been upstairs really. Sasuke only allowed her to enter into his bedroom, which was pretty bland and uninteresting – not surprising. If Sasuke wasn't in the family room he was almost always in his room brooding. Hinata looked down at her own instructions, that was location number two. Hinata turned to the stairs.

It was then that she wondered if she should turn back. There was a time for everything. Maybe she was being too anxious. Maybe she was too attached. It had been days, not even weeks, and she was already reaching for him in the way that a two year old reaches for its parent.

"Hmm." She sighed to herself, looking down at her sheet. It was probably a waste of time. She was probably being immature and moronic. She thought of all the bitter insults Sasuke would throw at her: she was being a fool, a little girl, or a Neanderthal. Best case scenario: she was being all of them at once. Didn't it just mean everything to her when Sasuke berated her? It just meant she was on his mind, he'd analyzed what she was, he thought about her. She wanted to believe he thought about her.

Every step higher on the stairs she took, she was struck with a jolt of apprehension. Anyone would be nervous to walk up those stairs. Not only did they creek but they were dusty and infested with black widows and who knows what else. The paint on the rails peeled in distress and the direction in which the stairs led could not be easily seen. It was just dark; dark and dim and cold.

Despite the odds, Hinata made it past the 13th step and onto the second level of the home. It was not as dark from here. Now she saw nothing but darkness when she turned back to look at the first floor. This whole house was one big optical illusion; either that or she was losing it. No wonder Sasuke was off. If Hinata had to live in that dungeon she'd be a bit insane too.

From there it was just one very long hall that stretched all around the main house in a square. The doors were literally so consecutive that there was barely any space between each and the last. Any average person would probably get tragically confused and turn back the way they came but Hinata knew just where Sasuke slept. His room was different from any other. She didn't know why exactly, it just was. It let off a different aura. The whole house was cold, frigid. Sasuke's room was warmer, in a sense. At the same time there was a special bit of something extra there. Something like pain, anger maybe.

His door was also different. Rather than the common two-sided door that could be seen all over the house, Sasuke's door slid open. It was made from wicker and bamboo and allowed anyone on either side to see through to the other. What privacy was that, Hinata wondered? If either side was so easy to see then that defeated the purpose of the door being there.

Hinata walked patiently and cautiously down the hall. Even the floor was a different wood up here. She could only wonder what was inside all of them. What use did a family of four have for so many rooms? She would never know.

Now she was in front of it. She raised a brow as she came up in front of it. The lights were on and the door was barely cracked. That wasn't what was peculiar. There was a rustling coming from inside. A bit too much to be Sasuke – unless he was drunk. He usually never made sounds when he moved, he was like a ghost. If he was drunk he'd probably be punching out windows and breaking things. This was unlike him. Maybe he was shifting about in pain. She couldn't really see. The shades on the door let a little light out but they were too close together for Hinata to really get an image on what was going on. Without thinking she slid her hand between the space of the door and the threshold and slid the door open.

"Holy shit." Ino cries immediately. She pulls the mangled blanket from the bed and covers her naked form with it.

Hinata was paralyzed completely. She couldn't even think of something to think. She was just out of all emotion she possessed.

That wasn't what she expected to see. That wasn't what she was supposed to see. She was supposed to see Sasuke kneeling over in pain, holding his chest with his eyes clenched shut. She wasn't supposed to see Sasuke and Ino _together _in _bed_. That wasn't possible. It just wasn't. They were not there in front of her. Ino was married. She was at home with her husband or she was at the flower shop selling single orchids to old ladies. Sasuke wasn't here. He was out somewhere training, kicking a tree to death. He was at some sketchy bar drinking himself unconscious.

That was not Ino sitting there next to Sasuke with exposed breasts barely covered by a blanket, her mouth agape and her hair twisted and tangled. There was no sweat on her brow and her underwear was not on discarded on the floor next to a hair band wrapped in stray blond strands. That was not Sasuke lying on the opposite side with his long, dark hair stuck to his neck and forehead; his chest out, the sheets at his waist, expressionless.

Ino took a swift look at Sasuke before looking back at Hinata in a panic. Sasuke seemed completely unnerved by the entire thing; he simply stared at Hinata in what was a cross between utter humiliation and utter indifference. Ino's eyes widened as her jaw shook, looking for words to say. She knew there was nothing, nothing she could say to Hinata to make it okay, to make her less of a monster than she already was.

Hinata just stood there. It wasn't clear at this point who the spectacle was. Was it the girl that had just walked in on her supposed best friends screwing away their morning or was it the highly revered man lying in bed with the married woman? Who knew? Hinata was devoid of any idea of what action to take.

"Hinata, we've got to talk about this." Ino muttered under deep breath. She covered her face with her palms as tears welled up in her eyes and poured down her face like a waterfall. There was nothing to deter her guilt, nothing to justify her wrongdoing. She was wrong, and now she was sure she was hated by Hinata – and soon enough, Shikamaru.

"Um." Hinata murmured. "I'm… I'm sorry." She took a step back, sliding the door closed. What she just saw, the way Sasuke looked at her – none of it made sense. She didn't belong there. She didn't belong there. She was entering the wrong home. She was somewhere she had no business being. She was not supposed to exist in that spot, in that situation. No. She was in the spot of someone who entered houses without the explicit consent of the owner, who wandered about alone in unfamiliar places, who entered rooms without knocking. She was not that bold girl. She was Hinata. She was the girl who was afraid to walk out in her own backyard at night.

She didn't need to be there. Hinata headed for the stairs. She was wrong, she was wrong about a lot of things. Sasuke wasn't the same boy she knew when she was sixteen and Ino was not the same noble woman she always looked up to. People change. Sasuke changed. He no longer needed her company. He no longer had a hole in his heart that needed to be filled with love and acceptance. He'd already filled it with darkness; darkness and booze. Why was she there? Why was she even there?

A single tear slid down her cheek. Her eyes were wide open, still facing in front of her. She couldn't even feel herself crying. She was devoid of any emotion. The place inside her where it mattered was so hard to find. What was the point of it all?

It was as if someone had wiped the slate of her heart clean. There was no room for anymore disappointment, for any more pain. It would take time to process what her brain wouldn't let her feel. In no time she was at the door from which she came. That big, heavy door with the medical case crammed against the side to keep it from closing.

But isn't that the point of doors? To keep the outside out and the inside in?

Hinata didn't know anymore. She was outside now. It's true that she was probably always on the outside and just didn't notice. This entire organization of construed plots and stories was all fake. It was all fabricated in her own mind. She turned around as she slowly backed away and took a long look at the house. That big, paper house. This was a paper hell really. Nothing good came of that place. Nothing good.

The wind blew Hinata's hair about. It blew the tears right off her face. It dried them into her cheeks and burned her eyes as to punish her. The forces of nature didn't even want her to cry, they didn't want her to have anything. So long as she stood here, she had nothing.

What would have it that, as Hinata stared blankly at the front face of Sasuke's house, that Ino would come rushing through the door in haste; her shoes in hand and her clothes hastily thrown on. She ran up to Hinata in a fashion that Hinata couldn't recognize. Ino never really panicked, she never really seemed so desperate.

As she got closer Hinata was able to better see her face; every line, every wrinkle, every dark spot. She wasn't perfect, no one was. Who exactly did Hinata look up to for years and years? Not this woman here. Her heavy black mascara made strides down her face and smudged all around her eyes. She was red all over. Her hair was mangled and mashed on top of her head and hurriedly thrown into a tangled pony-tale. She breathed so heavily. What life did she have in her? She'd just come from that lifeless house, it probably sucked the vivacity right out of her.

"I'm sorry." She could barely whisper through tears. Her voice cracked terribly and her eyes welled up uncontrollably.

What was she saying sorry for? What harm was done? Hinata had no clue. Where was she, for that matter?

Ino quickly hurried past Hinata and down the dirt road of Sasuke's estate in tears. Hinata almost wished she had tears. She wished she could muster some strength, some will to feel sorry for herself. But what did she have to feel sorry for? She was just sorry that she opened the door.

"_I've been thinking of letting them fight over me." Sasuke muttered as he stared consciously at the two girls before him. _

_Sakura and Ino made their usual rounds to the front of Sasuke's estate. They'd often make wagers about whom Sasuke would prefer. Ultimately it turned into a competition of who could get closer to Sasuke's door without running away in a heated frenzy. They thought Sasuke didn't know. He knew. He'd seen them idiotically shuffling around on his lawn for years. He'd just pray that they would leave without stealing any of his lawn ornaments for memorabilia. _

_He closed the blinds that he peaked through and turned around to Hinata. She sat neatly on his bed with her legs crossed. It used to mean something to her to be sitting on a man's bed. Time after time Sasuke never acknowledged that she was in his bed; he almost seemed to ignore the fact. It didn't seem to bother him very much. If it didn't bother him, it didn't bother her either._

"_To the death, that is." Sasuke added with a nod, turning back around to peek through his blinds at the two moronic girls._

_Hinata giggled. She was starting to like Sasuke's cruel humor. He wasn't always as cynical as people made him out to be. He actually had a quite well-fostered sense of humor. _

"_Well…" Hinata said softly, thinking out loud as usual. "They're both so pretty." Much prettier than she was after all._

_Sasuke paused for a moment. He didn't take his eyes off the window. Hinata half-expected him to turn around and comfort her or atleast grimace and dismiss the two girls as hideous and disgusting. But no, he just stood there. She almost held her breath._

"_Ino's winning if we're speaking of, uh, let's say 'physique'. And finesse as well." He spoke, focusing intently on the image of Ino and Sakura shoving each other down the walkway in front of Sasuke's house._

_Hinata blushed. How lustful of Sasuke. She didn't know he had such thoughts brewing in his brooding head. Who knew Sasuke Uchiha was… sexual. It just made Hinata shift uncomfortably. Sasuke found girls to be attractive and of all girls, Ino and Sakura._

"_Sakura is… attractive – certainly not extravagant." He grunted a bit stiffly. "Maybe to, you know, Naruto or something."_

_She pouted a bit but recovered just before he turned around and threw her a slow, lingering look. He furrowed his brow slightly. "You seem to have a problem."_

"_No…" Hinata sighed a long, deep sigh, laying back on Sasuke's bed and staring up at the dimples in the ceiling. He would never give her the compliment she so longed for. That just wasn't his style. "It's nothing."_

"_Must be." Sasuke snubbed her and returned to his window peeping. _

_Hinata raised a brow as she laid back. How could he be so uninterested? Didn't he see her dying there? He could so easily pay attention to those silly, undeserving girls. Hinata knew her thoughts were wrong. Ino and Sakura were her friends. Ino had been especially kind to her since they were young. Sakura helped her train when they were in the academy. They were both deserving of attention. And they were beautiful. _

"_A person ought not to be lustful." Hinata said. Those words were swimming through the back of her consciousness and they somehow made their ugly way out. Her eyes snapped open in her own kind of shock and disapproval. _

"_And you're now the judge of everything good and moral." Sasuke sneered, not even turning to look at Hinata._

"_No." She responded meekly. She knew it was her fault. She asserted herself against him. He condemned her if she was silent, more so if she spoke against him._

_Sasuke flicked the blinds closed in one motion, taking a graceful step back as he faced the wall. "Sex is something that is… trivial." He spoke neatly. He was in another one of his philosophical superiority moods. "It's a pleasure for a weak-spirited man."_

"_Are you a weak-spirited man?" Hinata muttered, allowing her eyes to fall closed. What was the point in dissenting? He desired what he desired, if that was to speak of himself and how brilliant he was then so be it. She'd merely edge him on. It's what satisfied him. That was better than sex to him. _

"_I have been." He made a slow turn on his heels to face the girl. Sasuke knew the meaning of temptation, its name and definition was lying on his bed. Her skin looked like porcelain, so much that he was sure it would be cold if he touched it. In an artful and intelligent painting of some world far off; he was man and she was woman. She was the imperfect image of a perfect idol. Though she was just sixteen, she'd soon become any man's fantasy. Now she was too naïve, too afraid of what she was. She had not yet discovered the power she held in her very existence. In the before time, when there were only Hyuugas and Uchihas – and perhaps some other small clans with similar features – men slayed one another for the opportunity to own such beauty. _

_She wasn't there yet. Her mind was elsewhere. She was just sixteen._

_And he was eighteen. He did not want to marry or consider marriage or consider any kind of committed relationship. He wanted to be alone. He wanted to consider being alone forever. It was far easier than way. He wouldn't have to concentrate on the big-bosomed girl that lay carelessly on his bed._

_Hinata found her eyes open and fixed on Sasuke. She couldn't find his features in this light. He was a silhouette, a shadow of a man. Somehow she knew he was looking at her and it incited discomfort like any other time._

"_I don't love sex. I certainly don't need it." He mumbled lustfully, his eyes moving over every inch of Hinata's body. She was truly a woman, a proper lady. She left very little of her body uncovered. It made it easier for Sasuke to define every curve of her body in his head. "Go home."_

_Hinata sat up in confusion. She knew what he was asking of her, this happened so often. Their meetings ended abruptly sometimes. She always assumed Sasuke had his own reasons. Perhaps he wanted to sleep or train, or he just didn't want her around. Hinata didn't need another indication, she knew what to do. _

"_Go on." Sasuke shewed her, coming out of the brightness of the window to slide his room door open for her. "Leave me alone."_

_Hinata shrugged hurriedly. She shuffled towards the door. She wasn't upset or offended by his harsh and blunt way of dismissing her. Sasuke had no means to say anything politely. He did not mean that he didn't want her there. He simply wanted her to leave. He'd not sugarcoat it. 'You should go' is just a polite way of saying you want someone to leave. What was the difference?_

_She walked out with a frown and now stood just outside of his door. He allowed her to exit, facing her for only a moment. Then without a word he slid the door shut. This was Hinata's cue to sit outside of his house and reminisce about every word exchanged between them until she was suspicious that he was aware of her presence outside of his home. _

_She wasn't some oversexed school girl. It was just that… she thought he was pristine, perfect. He was flawless, every word he uttered was deserving of being encased in gold. Yet he appreciated the beauty of even the two most foolish girls in Konoha over hers. Perhaps she wasn't exactly what he was looking for, not his image of beauty. She wasn't anyone's image of beauty._


	14. Chapter 14

"They were two adults fucking, Hinata."

Hinata's face was burning with a stinging, mortifying heat. How could he say it so blatantly? Kiba was so unrefined. It wasn't exactly like she was a child. Kiba just knew how _mild _Hinata could be. She sought an outlet in him, as Ino was the person she would ordinarily spill her conscious thoughts to. Unfortunately, Ino was the bee buzzing around her head at the moment.

Her feelings were mixed so tightly, like a wound-up bundle of yarn. She didn't know where it all began or where it all would end. Hinata was a person who kept things to herself, almost everything. Today she was a leaky faucet. She tried desperately to hold onto the confidentiality she had with herself to no avail. Something had to give.

Now she was sitting across from Kiba in one of Konoha's many tea houses. His eyes seemed fixed on her eyes. Hinata couldn't stop painting a picture of Kiba's face over what she saw in front of her. There was nothing different, it was just, he was really sitting in front of her. It was a bit surreal. Since she'd stopped her work as a ninja she let ties loosen between her and her unit gradually. Kiba was once what she considered to be her best friend; he was kind, protective and considerate. He was always there for her when she needed him, no matter what. By the time she was sixteen she'd realized his obligation to protect her was the product of a deep, subconscious romantic connection he believed they had. Contrary to her conscience, she let it be. Kiba was a friend to her and nothing more. She wouldn't bring it up; she'd simply continue being herself around him in lieu of the outlying circumstances.

She was surprised he even responded when she summoned him to this place after over a year of barely speaking. After everything, she was pleased to find that he was the same person. She opened up to him so very easily, letting every thought in her mind slip away. Why was it that she could be so uncensored around this man, yet be so reserved around everyone else – even Ino?

"Kiba!" Hinata whispered and blushed simultaneously looking around to see if anyone had heard Kiba's lewd statement.

"What?" He replied with raised brows. "It's true. Ino is an adult and Sasuke is an adult. If they want to play with each other's private parts, that's up to them." He sufficed by crossing his arms and tilting his chair back recklessly.

Hinata furrowed her brow. How could he take it so well, so cut and dry? How could he be so unaffected by it all? Had she not properly described the trauma she went through? Perhaps she was just behind in the times. No, no. There was something not right with it all. Some part of what she saw was despicable. "But… b-but Ino is married." She whispered, still conscious of the fact that they were loosely surrounded by all of three people.

"Hinata." Kiba sat up, uncrossing his arms with a sigh. "Look, Konoha is… well, it's a small village. And when you live in such a small place, especially such a traditional place like this, girls like Ino meet guys when they're ten and marry them when they're twelve. I mean, that's just the way it is. They grow up without really getting to, ya know, _try out_ different people. And those guys grow up too… and they, well, they don't usually meet every woman's expectations." He said, trying to put it in the most understandable way possible for Hinata.

"Marriage is a sacred bond, Kiba." Hinata pouted. She was completely aware that she was being a bigot. She just couldn't break from it. It was what she thought was right.

"If you really think Ino is the only married woman in Konoha that's fucked around behind her husband's back, you're wrong." Kiba bit his lip.

Hinata drew back a bit. "What do you mean?" She asked inquisitively.

"I'm just saying." He sighed, throwing his head back. His tuft of hair bounced as he raked his fingers through his hair. "Ino has liked Sasuke since we were, what, four? Old crushes die hard, Hinata… I should know." He gave a faint half-smile, looking the girl dead in the eye, searching for something he knew she was not willing to give.

"Kiba." She spoke faintly, feeling a twinge of guilt. She was an advocate of the game herself. She never accepted Kiba's feelings or even acknowledged them. Atleast Naruto was ignorant. Hinata knew quite well of Kiba's feelings and simply chose to ignore them because it was easier for her, not so much for him. "I'm sorry."

"Don't worry about it." He pulled his chair back a little, turning his head to the attention of the young woman who was coming to collect their cups. His was full almost to the brim, he hated tea.

"Are you done with these?" She asked in a sweet and passive voice.

"Yep." Kiba yawned as the girl picked up both his and Hinata's cups, even though Hinata wasn't yet finished with hers. The girl smiled and walked away without another word. Kiba's eyes retreated back to Hinata's unsettled face.

"Besides, I don't suppose she raped Sasuke." Kiba said, tapping his fingers on the table.

"Of course not." Hinata responded immediately without thinking, staring down at the table. "He wouldn't allow that."

"So what does that say?" Kiba asked.

Hinata's eyes darted up to meet his knowing gaze. Something just clicked.

"I thought as much." He said, pulling himself up with a lazy grunt. "Ino's not ugly, Hinata."

Hinata blushed. She blushed just because she knew it was true. Everything Kiba said was true. That just meant that Sasuke _wanted _to do what he did.

"And since when do you care who that bastard is screwing anyway?" Kiba asked with a grunt as he pulled Hinata's chair out from its place whilst she sat in it.

It then occurred to Hinata just how transparent she was being. Why should she be concerned about Sasuke and Ino sleeping together? She wasn't married to him – or her. Why exactly was it so wrong again?

"I don't know." She shrugged, looking down at the floor as she gracefully got up from her seat and Kiba pushed it in after her.

Kiba raised a brow but kept his thoughts to himself. Hinata was a mystery.

"Well, let's not think too much about it." He said, heading towards the door so he could open it for the item of his affection. They stepped towards the door; Hinata was just noticing how the shop owners had replaced the old wooden floor with linoleum. She felt a certain sentiment. It was like; the old-fashioned things were being replaced with newer, easier… things. Whatever.

"Stop patronizing me, would you?"

Both Kiba and Hinata turned to the familiar voice of Shikamaru. Hinata's breath got caught in her throat.

Kiba raised his brows as tension immediately rose with Shikamaru and Ino entered the shop.

"I'm not patronizing you." Ino cried, clutching Shikamaru's bicep. "I just-"

"I _just _spent time with you yesterday!" Shikamaru snapped, pulling his arm from her grip, clearly annoyed with her jargon.

"That _wasn't _spending _time _with me! You were playing Mahjong!"

"I was there! We were together!"

"But you weren't even paying attention to me!"

"You could have played with me!"

"For the last time, I don't want to play Mahjong!"

"Then don't play – and leave me alone!"

Ino gasped. "Don't be so rude!" She shrieked, although she was in clear disregard of her quiet surroundings and the peaceful tea patrons that were currently being distracted by their loud argument.

"Then stop _nagging _me!" He pulled her closer and whispered through gritted teeth, dangerously irritated by her presence. Looking past her, he caught sight of Kiba and Hinata standing there in awe. With a relieved scoff he gestured to her. "Hinata! Thank God. Come talk to Ino so she won't have to follow me around and _bother _me all day."

Ino's eyes stuck to Hinata's expression. It was one of unsure indifference, the worst brand. She didn't know whether or not she should really care. It was all lost somewhere, she was sure.

"God, Shikamaru! Fine, if it's killing you that much to be around me… just, just go, okay?" Ino cried bitterly, pointing to the door. Her face was stained with red and her eyes were furious.

"No." Shikamaru groaned. "_This _is where _I _come to get away from _you_. _You _go." He exhaled, biting his bottom lip to keep his frustration at bay.

Then that time came where silence fell over the entire shop. The tea girl stood beside a table of elderly men as they stared simultaneously at the situation. Hinata's gaze fell upon the couple in a sense of morbid nonchalance. Kiba looked under a shade of stoicism. The air surrounding the two could be cut with a knife. It was so silent, in fact, that Ino's heavy and unsteady breathing could be heard throughout the store. Her cheeks were redder than Hinata had ever seen them. It was only a matter of time before tears broke through.

"Dammit, Shikamaru." She whispered harshly, covering her disorganized face with the inside of her elbow as tears slid down the sides of her face. As soon as she could think to move she turned away from him and pushed the door open, making a slight struggle in the action. The bells on the wall near the door swung and chimed vivaciously and Ino was gone.

The door swung closed.

The bells chimed.

Everyone just stood there.

Hinata just stared.

"What the fuck, Shikamaru." Kiba barked.

"Kiba, I have a headache. I'm not in the mood." Shikamaru held his head in irritation, rubbing his forehead. He took it upon him to seat himself close to the door and gestured to another tea girl to take his order.

Kiba stepped up to him. Hinata hesitated any movement.

"Man, I get it – Ino's annoying but that was kinda… harsh, wasn't it?" Kiba said, gritting his teeth. "She _is _your wife."

"You don't have to be married to her." Shikamaru spoke emotionlessly, picking up the small handmade menu on the table and reading over it, although he already knew all the tea options and combinations available.

Kiba took a glance back at Hinata as thoughts stewed in his mind. "Well…" he bit his tongue. "Just appreciate what you have… or someone just might take her from you."

Hinata's stomach was boiling with… thoughts and feelings and things she didn't understand. She didn't understand anything. She was so young, so naïve. The world was like a bowl and she was a superfluous ingredient, unnecessary. She was behind, back, alone, crushed, gone, winded, words she did not know she knew. Why did any of it occur to her? To her even? Her mind was so simple, so incapable of figuring out what to do with those things. They were just things. She didn't even know what to call them. She just didn't… know…

"Yeah, that'll happen." Shikamaru snorted sarcastically. "Kukicha, please." He said, motioning with one hand to the young woman who stood by him, prepared to serve him.

"Yes, sir. Right away." She smiled and took leave into the back, presumably to prepare Shikamaru's order.

"She's _my _wife. If she's upset, I'll deal with the consequences." He mumbled to himself, putting down the menu.

Kiba exhaled a breath of fire, deciding it was better just to turn and walk away from this bitter moment between him and that wall of a man.

"Alright, Hinata, let's just g-" He said, turning his head to where he thought she was. "Where did she go?" He asked in confusion, looking around the store as if she'd disappeared like an apparition.

The elderly tea patrons merely replied with a shrug. Kiba scratched his head. That girl was a handful; he'd never loved her more.

* * *

"Ino!" Hinata called out, the cooling air meeting her face and lighting her nose. When did it get so cold outside? The seasons changed without her knowledge or her consent. How cruel of them.

Ino stood there with her back turned. She was like a statue, an interpretive statue fashioned to be dismal and systematically depressed. Her hair swayed back and forth with the gentle wind. It looked stringy, much less full and silky than Hinata remembered it to be. Her hands were entangled in her hair as her body bent in a sloppy, disorganized fashion. What was she after everything?

"Ino?" Hinata spoke nervously; approaching the woman she once idolized and revered to be inherently strong and beautiful. She was much less now. She was just like her.

It seemed like Ino's barrier was depleted with every step closer that Hinata took. The world was reduced down to a notch on the belt of someone neither of them knew well at all. It was just them. Just Hinata and Ino thrown into this raffle, going round and round and round in a sphere. They were all shaken up. Hinata was all shaken up. Ino was all shaken up. They were dying and departing at the same time, as one being, together.

Hinata knew nothing. She had no thought in her mind of anything substantial that she could do to complete this, to end it right away. However, she was intelligent. Her mind was vast in that moment. She knew that it would not end there, no. It would persist as long as it held them both; whatever it was. So she did what her impulses told her.

Hinata came up behind Ino, as she shook and wept into her palms, and wrapped her arms around her back. And she held her tight. She had no mind to let go. She couldn't let go if she tried. Hinata rested her head on the back of Ino's shoulder. She could feel her heartbeat, every breath she took, her body shaking. Why hide? They were the same now, here, forever.

* * *

Ino watched persistently as Hinata moved about the room.

She was dynamic in every way. She'd not taken a seat yet. Ino sat there in Hinata's white wicker rocking chair that remained in the corner of her room since she was a small girl. Hinata had taken her in for no apparent reason, forced her to shower, and now she sat there as awkward and unconfident as she'd ever been. Her hair was damp, hanging down her back. She was even wearing one of Hinata's robes, an older one of course, which Hinata had neatly outgrown.

Now she was watching Hinata buzzing around her bedroom like a bee. She first went into the kitchen to fetch Ino a small meal, which she ignored appropriately in exchange for watching Hinata pace around her room. Hinata made her bed, although it was already made. She fixed every small decoration and appliance she had. Now she went through her drawers and ply-wood boxes in search for an item that simply did not exist.

"Are you… thirsty?" Hinata suddenly asked, pushing one of her drawers closed.

"No…" Ino said softly. "I'm fine."

"Oh… o-okay." Hinata replied just under a whisper. "That's f-fine… just fine."

Ino was more confused than she'd ever been.

"Hinata, why are you doing this?" She asked. She had to ask. Hinata had just seen her in a compromising position with the man she likely cared for deeply no less than 24 hours ago. Now, here she was trying to feed her and make her comfortable?

Hinata played with her thumbs nervously, afraid to face the woman behind her. She had something in her, a voice that she was very well mustering up.

"What is this, Hinata?" Ino spoke in a flurry of guilt and humiliation. She stood up angrily, picking up her clothes that Hinata had neatly folded on the bureau. "Aren't you mad? I've betrayed your trust, have I not? I'm a horrible friend, aren't I?"

Hinata was unmoved.

"How can you stand to be around me?" Ino spat, a flow of tears making a trail from her eyes to the floor. She waited for a response, big or small, it meant something. But nothing, she got nothing. "Why? Why aren't you saying anything to me?" Ino swallowed nervously with her eyes bulging and red. All of this, this whole ordeal was inciting an unmatched, passionate anger in her heart that she did not understand. "Just say something to me, you bitch!" She cried. "Why… why won't you just hate me?"

"Because Shikamaru treats you the way Sasuke treats me." Hinata said.

Was that it? Was that what was plaguing her insides for hours? Was that the light that some divine being wanted her to reach? It must have been, as she felt some great feeling of release upon saying it.

Ino's heart was heavy. What was there to say here but the words her brain spewed through her lips without caution. "I'm… so sorry." She wept, kneeling to the floor and holding her head. "I wanted him so bad."

"I know." Hinata said, looking up to the ceiling if only to keep the tears from spilling over, although they did so freely. And it felt right. She hadn't cried for so long. They felt cool against her pours like a reviving rain.

"He just seemed so lonely." Ino said, wiping her burning eyes. "And I'm… lonely, I guess." And that was the truth. That was all the truth she had left in her. That was the thing that burdened her for years. She was lonely. She was loved, and in love, yet so lonely, so tortured by a man who would not attend to her needs.

"But Shikamaru-"

"I regret my marriage." Ino sniffled.

Hinata froze in all shock and awe. She couldn't believe what Ino had just said.

"Shikamaru makes me feel… dumb. All the time." She sniffled, wiping her nose as well and picking herself up off the floor. "Which is fine. I mean, I know I'm not as smart as him."

"Ino." Hinata frowned. She had no idea Ino was harboring all of these insecurities.

"But I don't want to be treated like an object – like I'm his pet our something." Ino cleared her throat, regaining her composure. "But I chose that man. I chose… what he does."

Just like that, the feeble Ino Hinata had been introduced to had been replaced with the original model. Still, still dammit, Hinata still revered her. She was still a solid, unmovable woman that Hinata wanted to become. She so easily accepted her faults and put the pieces back together. She was…

She was removing the robe Hinata had given her. Underneath she was naked. Bare, stark, undeniably, unquestionably naked. Hinata could barely move her eyes at all; they were glued to Ino's body. It was strange, the strangest thing Hinata had ever felt. It wasn't strange in a strange way; it was strange in a… strange way.

Hinata was drawn in by the shape and finesse of Ino's body. Her skin was like a fine, silk ribbon. She was what was painted in the antique woodcuts her father kept; she was the image of perfection. Her stomach was completely flat, her breasts were round, her nipples were perky and rosy, her bottom stuck out just the right amount… she was everything everyone said she was. It wasn't until she bent over to pick up her clothes that Hinata noticed the exposed part of her inner thighs were bruised and discolored.

She immediately gasped. "Oh my God! Ino!" Hinata exclaimed.

"Yes?"

"You've got bruises… inside your… your thighs." Hinata pointed in horror.

Ino blushed, realizing that she was exposing some very tender parts to Hinata. She immediately stood tall, pulling on the top part of her outfit. "Oh, that." She stuttered. "It's just… um… Sasuke… you know…"

"He didn't-?"

"No, of course not." Ino shook her head, already knowing what Hinata was about to say.

"Oh." Hinata said. Now she was just dumbfounded. If Sasuke didn't rape her, how did she have bruises between her legs? That could only mean that he was brutal by some means of an accident. He was just naturally forceful. It was bringing everything into the scope of perspective.

Ino and Sasuke. Sasuke and Ino.

Hinata just didn't fit into that equation. Maybe it had nothing to do with her. Maybe it had everything to do with her, too much. Whatever amount, wherever she was brought into this, it was making things difficult between her and Ino, probably forever.

Yet Sasuke had nothing to say about it. Nothing to show for it.

In fact, he sat there. He sat there on the bed while Ino shed her tears on the sheets. He made no effort to speak a word, a word of apology, a word of acknowledgement. In the end, he was the outlier. He made no sense; he had no place in this. Maybe it had nothing to do with him. Maybe it had everything to do with him, too much.


	15. Chapter 15

"And what is this, exactly?"

"A letter of resignation."

The burly, blonde-haired nurse raised a brow at Hinata, looking over the finely hand-written letter Hinata had just handed her. She looked back up at the girl, who smiled in a persistent way that would suggest that she knew something the nurse did not know.

"Why are you resigning?" The nurse begged to ask, in an uncaring manner that is.

"I've simply lost purpose working here – it's all in the letter, you'll find." Hinata pointed daintily to the letter in the opposing woman's hand with indication.

"You're serious?" The woman asked, a bit more stark about the fact now. Hinata was essential to the survival of the hospital, and the survival of the citizens of Konoha. She had a talent no one else had, other than Hanabi, who was adamantly unwilling to help anyone. "Who the hell is going to do your job then, huh?"

"Oh." Hinata added. "Sakura." She turned and pointed at the disorganized pink-haired girl behind her, fumbling with a cart of beakers.

"No." The nurse put her head down in disbelief with a slight sarcastic chuckle. "No, no, no. You've got to be shitting me. Please tell me this is a joke."

"I'm very sorry." Hinata took a bow, for some odd reason. She just felt as though that was the respectful, customary thing to do. With that she took her leave, making way for the front doors of the clinic.

She had done what was right, she told herself over and over. She thought about it and thought about it for days and days. Her desire to be in _his _presence was overwhelming, but the only real reason she had was her obligation at the clinic. Now it was Sakura's problem – and she'd surely enjoy that. As for her, she'd not feed him in the way he desired. She was no prop for amusement.

Hinata had decided in her mind to trade those instant, fleeting moments of emotion for her usual mundane life – with her mundane dinners and her mundane lunches. She didn't need anything more before.

And it started working right away. The air outside of the clinic even seemed thinner, more malleable. The green of the trees was greener, her steps were louder, and the sun was brighter. It's possible that this was all fabricated in her mind, but at least his devotion held true. Now her head was buzzing with another dilemma, less easily put off. What now? What was she to do with her days now that she was no longer the wallflower nurse of the clinic? She could hardly remember what she did before.

"Wait just one minute!" The same nurse from before came sprinting through the double doors with a sheet of paper in her hand.

And to think Hinata was almost free.

She caught up to Hinata so easily, bending over for a second to recover from her "daring" run. "You have an unfulfilled obligation to the clinic." She panted, holding up the paper, which Hinata could not read as it was a bit too far. "You had a routine check-up with Sasuke scheduled on the 22nd."

Hinata swallowed. It was coming back to her now.

"You never showed up for work." The nurse gave her final pant, standing up tall and daunting.

"I'm very sorry." Hinata stuttered, searching her lexicon of excuses for one that fit in this situation.

"Konoha has an obligation to care for the medical needs of war veterans, Hinata. It was mandated by the first Hokage himself." She handed Hinata the sheet she was holding. Hinata just looked down at it dumbfounded. "Anyone who doesn't adhere to the law will be fined – or detained."

"B-but I… I… I've quit." Hinata began.

"But, you see, _you _were on duty when Sasuke was supposed to be seen. _You _didn't fulfill your duty by not coming to work that day, and not treating Sasuke. If anything were to happen to him; say, a heart attack, aneurysm, punctured blood vessel, some type of catatonia – it would come down on _you_."

Hinata stood there in a stupor of intense thought and immediate fear.

"That incentive enough?" The nurse smirked.

"Yes." Hinata sighed, reading over each word of the paper in her hands.

"When's the last time you gave him a cortisone injection?" She asked.

It came to Hinata then that she'd not given Sasuke an injection in quite some time. She sent Ino but…

"You don't even know, do you?" The woman shook her head in a bitter sense of delight. "Figures."

Hinata frowned. The tables had certainly turned here, did they not?

"Go treat Sasuke." She whispered with a tight grin.

* * *

Sasuke walked up to the window, the patio window. It led out there. The sun had just risen. It used to be some type of deck, for leisure. Now it was a barren field for training. His father was so intent on putting that in him. What a bastard.

Sasuke exhaled. He was alone. Solitude. It was the thing he liked, the thing he lusted after more than anything. It had been days since Hinata had last shown her face at his house. Well, much longer since the last time they met eyes, they were not on the best of terms. But were they ever? Whatever. This too would pass. It would not be the first time he'd been completely rotten and somehow bypassed Hinata's human ability to be vindictive. He once contemplated the idea of her lacking that part of her humanity, she could not be vengeful. But he knew better. Every person is capable of holding a grudge, even Hinata.

Not that any of that mattered – he was enjoying his time alone. No heavy feet stomping around his house, waking the ghosts. No prodding hands checking for circulation, he was unsure that blood existed in his body. He didn't need anyone to prove it either. No, he was fine all on his own.

He thought to himself, he was hungry. Just how hungry was he? It came to him that he could not easily recall the last time he sat down for a meal, something to put inside his body. Did he eat? He never realized how much food meant to him, not until… But that all no longer mattered. He could go so long without food now, he wasn't sure if it had ever occurred to him that he was waning away.

Sasuke walked up to his refrigerator feeling like a predator. How long had it been? The kitchen in his house remained unloved, unstocked, uncleaned. Fuck it, whatever. He opened it.

How surprised was he? No food. Nothing. Ordinarily when someone opens their refrigerator, they're greeted by a certain aging vegetable stench and a small array of undesired or expired foods in which they are uninterested. His refrigerator was completely barren, not even a carton of hardened baking soda.

His stomach growled.

Nevermind.

* * *

After lying about for hours at a time, trying to decipher the purpose of hunger, he chose to find solace in assaulting a defenseless product of nature. Now he felt so weakened, not even having hit the damned thing, he stood in front of it so weakly. He used to battle with trees, hands on. They were the only thing that would not fall down and quiver at his sight. They stood tall regardless. Oh yes, he could bring them down easily – but there was no fun in that.

Maybe it was this tree in particular, but it was tall, taller than him. He looked up, feeling childish because he was actually trying to measure how tall it was by sight. It seemed to go on forever. No matter, it could easily be defeated. It wouldn't be the first time he'd had to take down something much larger than him, if anything the tree was afraid of him. It cowered at his sight, most likely. It didn't stand a chance, why, it couldn't even run.

He was as effective at psyching out trees as he was with humans.

He woke up two hours later in a daze. He squinted up at the sky. He'd somehow blacked out. Now where was he?

Sasuke sat up, wiping the burning sweat from his brow and taking a defensive look around. Oh, his training deck. Had he passed out? No, no, not him. Never. He'd never trained until he fainted before. That was just something that… didn't happen, yet it did. It was undeniable. There he was, sitting on the dirty ground, drenched in sweat.

Maybe that was the world's way of punishing him for training on an empty stomach. How did he eat before? What was his source of sustenance? Well, had Hinata come over she would have surely fixed him something to eat or brought something sub-par from her own house to give him – he'd begrudgingly eat it with a face that would reflect his displeasure. But he ate. Was it so insignificant that he neglected the idea until just now? Maybe this was the world's way of punishing him for…? No.

He stood up, wobbly at that, but standing. The sun was still pounding down on his weakening body. It was so hot, so hot. When did it become hot? It was nearly winter. On top of everything, the tree was still there. He was sure that waking up covered in sweat was the result of his brute and expulsion of anger on the tree, yet it was still there. Did that mean, this time, the tree had defeated him?

He stepped up to it, stewing in confusion and displaced anger, and began pushing the trunk of the tree. He would not be so easily defeated. Sasuke's mind concentrated all of his remaining energy into his palms and his arms, and even his legs as they struggled to support the tension of his body. Sweat poured down his face from his hair, stinging his eyes mercilessly. His nails dug into the bark, splitting and curling over with dirt. With a single prolonged burst of energy and fury, the roots of the tree twisted and began to come up out of their sub terrestrial graves. They severed one by one until there were not enough of them intact to keep the tree standing.

Sasuke finally removed his hands, now splitting with blood at the creases, as he watched the tree slowly take its fall.

* * *

What was there to do in that godforsaken place? Sasuke paced about the first story of his house in a daze. He was now sweaty, tired, confused. This place was like a prison, yet he'd never leave voluntarily. In fact, it was the opposite of a prison to any normal man. It was a big, spacious home with glorious light fixtures, handmade doors and windows bigger and brighter than anyone could imagine. It was also dark, cold, empty, lacking the loving touch and care of a human being. It was haunted by him.

Maybe he was the visitor.

Now what was there to do?

Then suddenly Sasuke came upon an idea. It wasn't his best idea and he knew that as well. However, what was there to do in this godforsaken house? He made his way over to where he kept his harder beverages; he almost seemed spry – as if he was excited to drown his loneliness in the next available poison.

He bent over. The brass cabinet was given to his father by a Chinese emperor. It creaked dreadfully, likely needing some oil for its hinges, but that was the last thing on Sasuke's mind. The brass kept the cold in and the warm out. It was perfect for its purpose. Sasuke opened it, and to his dismay, only finding two bottles with anything to their names. Everything else had been subconsciously drained by his unforgiving habit. He pulled out the two bottles, atleast they were cold. One was something he liked, a dark liquor that would surely have him under the table in no time. The other was a bit aged; a bottle of sake his father had bought just before he was killed. It wasn't particularly Sasuke's favorite, he was never a fan of the finer sakes – they didn't quite keep the pain away the way he desired. The only problem was, the bottle of dark liquor was nearly gone and the bottle of sake was nearly full. He'd have to make do with what he had.

And now he was back to square one, unshakable boredom. The bottles were empty, now sitting on the table just taunting him. His life no longer held any purpose. There was no liquor, nothing to do, no training to be done. He could now lie in his grave without contempt. If only.

He couldn't help but think about her. She was the epitome of the very thing he was running from, yet the very thing that kept him from running away. In other words, she made him want to leave – just not very far. There was some hope there, if Sasuke believed in hope. She was a crack in a heavy door, letting a speckle of light in. But what place did he have with her, anyway? She was so light, so pure. He was so dark, and everything she had no need for.

Inside he hoped she would go away; find a new fellow to shower with her care and desire to help. He was… undeserving. She could do so much better. Then he laughed, having thought that. Well, no, actually, she couldn't do better. However, in theory, there are much nicer people out there for her to pursue. Then again, he was drunk – though arguably not drunk enough.

The clock ticked away.

And there was still nothing to do.

* * *

Now he was resorting to something he'd neglected to think of for quite some time. He'd always been fond of math. It was something that appealed to his realism. It was not abstract. It was not imaginary. It was not something that he could argue; it was either true or false. Either he was correct or incorrect; there was no middle ground – and always a means to find the right answer. Sasuke desired for his life to be an algorithm; one set means of getting from point A to point B, foolproof steps that will never fail. Not that he ever failed.

It was dark in his house now. The sun had set hours ago, and none of the lights worked. He wasn't drunk enough to pass out, and there was still nothing to do; nothing to do but solve equations on the wall of his bedroom with an old, blunt pencil. He had no paper. He was so good at this, so into the idea of finishing it all.

The sound of the edge of the pencil tapping against the wall with each stroke satisfied him. It was so comforting. He was working, producing, he was training his mind. It was all coming together. He understood everything.

"R." Sasuke murmured to himself. "R is the rate of the train's speed without stoppages, c will be the rate of the coach going in the same direction from a to b. X divided by c equals two times x over r."

Sasuke squinted in the darkness. He had this thing about him; he hated the dark even though it swallowed him continuously throughout his life. No, he wasn't afraid of what may come out of it. Monsters? They did not exist, much less in his mind. He was the monster that the ghouls in his closet feared as a child. But in the dark, in the dark, things formed out of nothing. That he did not fear, not even that. He feared that someday his imagination would create one thing, one thing that he would know to fear. It had become that way in the past.

So what was it that burdened his eyes in this shadow of night?

The r's. All of the r's looked like o's.

He erased the last line of work he'd done, attempting to rewrite it with more defined letters. There were no o's in this equation. Why did he draw o's? There were none.

He continued on solving the problem, counting in his mind with his eyes lightly shut. Then he opened them only to find that the r's – they were o's again. He erased them once more, and rewrote them. It had been a long time since he had to write; maybe he was a bit… rusty – if that was even possible.

Then again, the r's were o's. And the longer he stared, the more they came to his eyes. The r's were o's and the x's were c's and the b's were u's.

"What the hell?" Sasuke whispered to himself, angrily erasing the entire equation. Then like a door opening and greeting him with displeasure, there it was. Bold lettered no hiding, or shading. There it was.

**Orochimaru**

He gasped. It was the first time Sasuke had gasped, ever. That name. That name! Why was it on his wall? How did it get there? Was he going mad, no. No, that was not possible.

"It's _him_." Sasuke whispered, his eyes widened in shock and despair. "He's here."

He did not believe it. It was not possible. He picked up his pencil, taking it to the wall cautiously and nervously. He was literally shaking, barely even able to contain the pencil in his hand. He traced the letters, the entire word. He brought his hand up and touched the surface. It didn't smudge, it didn't waiver. It was there. It was real.

"No!" He shouted, tears welling up behind his eyes. He swiped his hand across the wall, trying to smudge the mark, trying to make it disappear. It wouldn't go away. "Fuck!"

He turned around in an instant, immediately searching the room with his eyes. It was quiet, other than the heavy sound of his labored breathing. Nothing, nothing but darkness. He could faintly make out the outlines of his bed, his night stands, his armoire, and his rugs. But it was too dark, much too dark to trust. "I know you're here." He babbled, shutting his eyes as the tear poured over. His face was hot and red with fear and rage.

Sasuke stepped up to his dresser and pulled it out from its place against the wall. "Where are you?" he cried out. Nothing. There was nothing behind it. "No!" He screamed. "You're here, I know you are!" He slapped his hand across the top of his dresser, only dashing his palm and fingers against a glass lamp he had sitting decoratively on top.

He cried out, jumping back. It was true. Orochimaru… he was there with him, hiding. He'd just attacked him with something. It was all surreal, flooding his mind. He looked down at his now bleeding hand with shock and terror, trying to make out the mutilation. He could hear the drops of blood, pounding down on the wood floor.

No, he would not die like this. He would not let Orochimaru dispose of him so easily. He took the pencil from its place on the floor and ran up to the nearest wall. He was here, he would not be deceived. He wrote, he wrote on the walls over and over and over. Orochimaru. Orochimaru. Orochimaru. He was not blind, no he was not blind. The blood on his hands, it was proof. "Show yourself!" He barked in the night. "You won't fool be again, you bastard!"

Sasuke cackled maniacally. Orochimaru was so stupid, so stupid. He was not as clever as he assumed. Sasuke would not be his pray.

"You took _everything_!" He cried out, heaving breaths in and out as he stabbed the pencil into the wall mercilessly. "What do you want?!"

Orochimaru had destroyed his life, taken anything he'd ever cared for.

"Oh." He laughed, throwing the pencil onto the ground. His head drooped low and his eyes stared at the hazy outline of his own feet, spotted with his own blood. "Here, have my blood! Have my tears!" He roared, smearing the blood from his hand onto the wall. He dug his thumb into the wound without thought and twisted until blood poured out. The pain was endless but it kept him alive, it kept him sure of his vitality. He slid his thumb across the wall artlessly, smudging a pattern in blood with a hysterical laugh for each stroke. "Is this what you want?!"

* * *

Okay so I hope you all enjoyed that, just sort of a glimpse into what's going through Sasuke's head as this whole thing has been going on between him and Hinata. Yeah, this chapter jumps around a lot but here is a good flashing arrow/hint to keep away confusion:

Everything that is going on from Sasuke's POV in this chapter takes place one day before what's going on from Hinata's POV. So Hinata resigns from her job, and is therefore forced to go see Sasuke, the morning AFTER Sasuke has this crazy neurotic breakdown. Okay? Got it? Good!


	16. Chapter 16

Hinata couldn't believe she was there again. She stood in front of his door, that notorious door. It was synonymous with everything she deemed too painful to bare.

She noted the cobwebs that formed in the crevices of his porch. Sasuke had so much nerve, well, his house did. After everything, it just carried on with its hideousness. She was sure he continued on with his lifelessness. He didn't need Hinata to check his pulse, he was barely alive and that was a certain thing.

Hinata wasn't sure if she could knock or just enter. Entering would be easier. In fact, she was almost certain that even if she did knock, Sasuke would not hear it from his desolate corner in the center of the house – even if he did, it wasn't likely that he'd come to the door. She imagined many people came knocking at Sasuke's door, whom he ignored. Then again, the last time she had entered without knocking she saw something she didn't like. Weighing her options, she chose what she thought was wise.

She knew for a fact that knocking was simply not enough, she needed to be more forceful or the sound would barely penetrate the thick wooden door. She banged on the door with all her might, hoping that the sound would carry to the other side. She waited a moment. The funny thing being that her heart began to pick up slowly but surely when no one came. It wasn't that she was eager to get the thing over with, it was that damned nurse. Something she said stuck with Hinata.

What if – and this was unlikely but what if something happened to him?

He was thin and pale and weak and he did have a herniated spinal disc. What if he fell and put his back out? No one ever came to check on him. He would just lie there and…

Hinata balled her fists, urgently throwing them at the door.

He had to be in there, he just had to be.

Because if he wasn't… why, she'd go to jail, she'd be shunned by her family, ridiculed, condemned and he'd be… gone.

That was enough; it had gone farther than she ever wanted it. So Sasuke was wrong in his actions, but was that reason enough for her to break her oath? She was a nurse, aside from all other things, it was her duty to keep tabs on Sasuke and she neglected him for her own selfish reasons. She denied it no longer, he'd hurt her but was it possible that subconsciously she wanted to hurt him as well?

Then she manifested the strength from deep within her heart, she grasped the door handle and flung it open in one motion. She wanted him, she wanted to see him, to know clear in her heart and mind that he still existed even if he'd never accept her friendship. That wasn't what mattered. She was bigger than that, bigger than him. Sasuke was a person, as was she.

She ran, she actually ran and this was rare. She made her way down the exact route to where she was sure Sasuke would be, well, where she hoped he would be. Her feet slid across the floor clumsily, though that wouldn't stop her. When she caught sight of the hall she threw herself between the two close walls. It was like some sort of trap, some sort of illusion. The walls seemed to come closer together the harder she struggled to get through them.

How had she gotten lost in her feelings? It was all flooding into her mind at once. Sasuke was hurt; he had things going on inside his body that he wanted no one to know about, and continued suffering as a result. It did not matter what he did, what he said, or what he didn't say. He needed her – and she, she was absent in his time of need.

When she reached the end of the hall she felt a false sense of cooling relief fall over her entire being but only for a short time. She took a long, desperate glance around the room. He wasn't there. He wasn't there. He wasn't there – but he was always there. That marked it – something happened. It was all her fault. But no – sometimes he'd go out and train or he'd be upstairs brooding. Hinata darted for the stairs, flying up all thirteen easier than she had any time before.

The halls were dark upstairs and so silent that she could hear her eyes blinking – or atleast that's what she thought. It was always dusty and hazy, a haven for spiders and unknown wafting shadows to send her spirits otherwise reeling downwards. That didn't matter; not here, not now. She knew exactly where his room was and she made her way to it without hesitation. As she came closer, something brought about an eerie caution in heart.

The hall was crowded with furniture.

It was all dusty and lazily thrown about. His clothes dresser was on the floor with drawers jutting out in the most hazardous of ways. To her surprise, Sasuke actually had clothes in those drawers – some which Hinata was sure he could no longer fit. It was all just spilled out on the floor next to his authentically hand-carved end-table with the gold drawer handle. Hinata walked by as slowly as humanly possible. She brushed her hand gently over the top surface of the end table. Dust clumped around her fingertips and made her shudder crudely.

She stepped over his clothes, a square wooden cup full of dried-out pens, a silken robe baring the symbol of Sasuke's clan and a foldable hand-fan until she was just at the entrance of his room. The shutter doors were ajar enough to expose the disastrous scene of his bedroom. Hinata took a short glance down the hall in the opposite direction. Sasuke's bedframe was taken apart and thrown up against the wall, as was his mattress. His bedroom was left empty.

She took a slight, anxious step inside when terror struck. She paused, covering her mouth in awe and disbelief. Her eyes began to water helplessly as she stepped closer to the wall immediately in front of her. She placed one hand on the wall, tracing the lines with her index finger. Orochimaru was written on every clear inch of the wall that was reachable. It seemed to be carved into the wall in some places like someone had used a blunt object to do so. In other places it seemed to be etched or scratched, as if someone had done it with their fingernails – but worst of all, in some places it was drawn… unevenly in what looked like dried blood.

Hinata snatched her hand away in pure terror. "W-what t-the hell?" She whispered to herself, backing away cautiously. She shouldn't have looked down; she should have turned around and went straight for the door. None of that matters in retrospect, because she did. She looked down at the floor fearfully to find that the cursed seal was painted on the floor in browned blood. She took a step back; traces of the blood followed her shoe in the form of a print.

That was all she needed to see. There was nothing she could do. She would no longer question what could be and what could not. Hinata was a coward above everything by nature, and she would not easily forget that. She turned around, simultaneously gliding across the floor for just a split second which made her stomach turn and incited a terrible feeling of disgust in her soul.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Sasuke stood there, as straight and still as any time before.

Hinata's eyes widened in great fear and trepidation. He had blood smeared all over his face, his arms, his legs and his knees. His hair was mangled and disorganized, so unlike him. She could help but notice his fingernails were split and crusted over with old blood.

"Hinata, you shouldn't have seen this." He growled through gritted teeth.

In Hinata's mind, everything was coming together. He'd done this and if she didn't disappear, and quickly, he'd exterminate her as well.

So she ran.

She ran right past him, down the stairs and out of the house. He didn't even budge; he didn't attempt to stop her. He understood. He understood everything she was thinking, everything she was feeling. This was bazaar to say the least and he didn't expect her to see past the oblique insanity that she was presented with. Because this is Sasuke, he thereby deemed her less intelligent – though he knew somewhere in his subconscious that that was just his ego trying to maintain the last shred of humanity he had, if he even had that.

Hinata would not understand that the Orochi himself was there with Sasuke just the night before. She did not understand anything that was going through his mind, all the endless thoughts. If it wasn't for the fact that he'd acknowledged his adaptation, his attachment for the girl, he'd likely feel relieved that she was gone – hopefully forever. This time was different, only not by much.

* * *

"Home." Shikamaru said nonchalantly, slamming the flimsy screen door that protected his and Ino's house from the perils of the climate. Ino was lying on the couch, face down in a pillow. She was… recovering, in her mind. She had a lot to think about. Yes, things were better with her and Hinata – but they'd surely never be the same. Not only that, but now she had this horrible weight on her shoulders. She had this thing she needed to do and it had been looming over her head for quite some time. It all brought her so down, so down that she laid on her sofa lifelessly for hours at a time. She didn't want to watch TV, she didn't want to shop, she barely wanted to work.

So she got to make love with the Uchiha she so lusted after. That didn't make anything better. It did not compel her to feel more feminine or valuable. She was now valueless, hopeless, helpless, drifting in and out of a perpetual nightmare.

"I brought you some… um, cereal." Shikamaru placed a box of what he'd hoped was cereal on the counter behind the couch. He raised a brow at it curiously. He'd first purchased it just as a quick make-up gift for Ino, now he was unsure whether or not it was the best idea. "Maybe."

Ino didn't respond. What good was it? Shikamaru's behavior was so repetitive; no doubt he'd be disgusted with her again when his next mahjong tournament is televised on the same night as her ridiculous Chinese drama.

"You okay?" He turned his head to her, asking without very much concern of enthusiasm. He stepped over to her, leaning over the back of the couch to look down at her. "I bought you cereal." He reached out and shook her shoulder gently. "Ino."

"Thanks." She mumbled into the pillow, if only to get him to leave her alone.

"Hey." Shikamaru said, tapping her back.

Ino looked up just for a second. Her face was reddened from the heat and welted from the grooves in the couch pillow.

"Babe, I realized that… you were right… for once." He sighed, walking over to the other side of the couch and moving Ino's feet up so that he could sit, then placing them on top of his lap. "I don't spend nearly as much time with you as I do playing chess or mahjong – or whatever."

A smile crept upon Ino's face as she blinked, her eyelashes mashed into her eyelids. "Aww, Shika."

"I know I changed a lot from when we first got married, and I'm sorry for that." He smiled. "And I'll try harder."

Ino sat up, feeling her emotional capacity becoming a bit rejuvenated from that last spiel. "Really, Shikamaru?"

"And I love you, a lot." He chuckled, baring a sly smirk. Shikamaru placed his hand on Ino's cheek, bringing her in for a kiss.

It felt so right, so needed. That was where she belonged. This was normal, everyday. This was the marriage she'd so easily slipped into; not fighting, not infidelity.

"Hold on." Ino pulled back a little, fiddling with the ends of her hair nervously.

Then came her subconscious thoughts, pressing for her to keep her mouth shut, continue being happy, what Shikamaru didn't know surely had no chance of hurting him. She'd just gotten there, to that place where she could be just a little happy. She could finally be reminded of how she fell in love with Shikamaru in the first place, of his quirks, his disposition. Now it seemed like she was purposely disrupting that balance. However, surely there were things about her which Shikamaru found lovely, or sweet or desirable. Certainly he had reasons to forgive her for her misdeeds in the same manner than she forgave him.

"Don't tease me." He mumbled flatly.

"I don't mean to be a tease." She sighed, rubbing the side of her neck.

"No?" He smiled smoothly. He took the end of her hair out of her hand and played with it himself momentarily, awaiting her invitation to proceed. It often took a little coaxing to get Ino in bed after many laborious days of treating her poorly. He only realized there was something amiss when he didn't hear her notorious cue. She would coo gently just before letting out a very soft and passive, 'Well, okay'. "Ino?"

She said nothing, but pulled the strings of hair from between Shikamaru's fingers and let them fall gently upon her shoulders.

"Ino Nara, look at me." Shikamaru carelessly tugged at Ino's sleeve.

She glanced up slowly. Ino never liked it when Shikamaru, or anyone else, saw her cry. She wasn't the crying type. She wished she had some control over it… to regain something she'd given up.

Shikamaru swallowed cautiously. It was a shock to him even. Ino never cried. Now that he thought of it, she'd been crying quite a bit lately – not that he was involved or cared to be involved. Ino had a way of sorting things out on her own. Previously Shikamaru would be reprimanded simply for trying to assist her. She never needed help before, why now? "Alright, what is it?" Shikamaru pulled away, just a bit cross that his sex appeared to be foiled. "You're crying and it's freaking me out."

"I'm sorry." She sniffled, wiping the space under her eye. "It's um… nothing really – my period."

"It's not your period is it?" Shikamaru sighed, rubbing Ino's back. "Cause if it was I would have seen some of those gross little tube things in the toilet – I tell you not to, but you always do." He shook his head. "Now, how bad can it possibly be?"

Shikamaru got up to stand in front of Ino before taking a knee on the floor in front of where she sat. He gently took her hands into his, looking up at her meaningfully. "You know you can tell me anything – as long as you're not pregnant." He smiled humorously, shaking her hands playfully. "Ino?"

* * *

The previous day was surreal to say the least.

Hinata didn't have the mind to think about it. It was far away now. She sat in the white wicker rocking chair in the corner of her room, fresh out of the shower in her pale pink shower robe and Chinese slippers. Her hair was damp and clung to the skin of her face and neck. She was safe now, that's all that mattered.

Safe from what, though?

Not from Sasuke. He would never hurt her, would he? No, as it turned out, that wasn't exactly what she was worried about – atleast not purely. She was merely confused, yes, confused.

With a sigh she contemplated where all of this was going. By now she'd accepted in her mind that she was – in a way – treating Sasuke while simultaneously providing security for her own motives. There was a gap in the clause, where she should have known exactly what she was trying to get from Sasuke. It wasn't quite friendship. She even questioned whether friendship with him was acquirable.

Then Hinata heard a sound that was notoriously familiar. She was relieved that it wasn't at her bedroom door for once, that was usually Hanabi hoping to find some type of loan in money or clothes. This tapping was different, it was one she missed. She stood up eagerly, taking a few steps towards the window then paused – that tapping was… familiar and comforting. It also either belonged to Kiba or…

"W-who i-is it?" Hinata flushed, shaking where she stood.

"Open the window."

Hinata's spirits immediately lifted higher than she desired. They lifted in a manner that shook her entire being. She was happy in the most cynical, morbid way possible. However, for the most part, she was reluctant and afraid. It was Sasuke.

Hinata walked over to the window, leaned over, and pulled it up slowly and securely to reveal his face, body, ups and downs squatting on her window ledge. He looked just like the Sasuke she knew when she was sixteen; handsome, stoic, and up to no good.

"Hi." Hinata breathed out with a slanted smile and stepped back so Sasuke could enter freely. She watched him crouch over and thrust himself through the window, then stand tall, rising up to her height and far beyond. He was so intimidating.

Today he was cleaned up. His hair was a little damp as if he'd just washed it. His clothes were even clean, neat, appeared to be pressed. There was no blood under his fingernails, no cuts or scrapes on his body. He was himself, a rare sight.

"Why did you run?" He asked. His voice was solid and powerful, so much that it could coax anything out of the small girl.

"I… uh… I-I'm… I d-don't know." She whimpered in fear. What was she to do, or to say?

"Don't lie." He commanded, clenching his fists at his sides. Hinata caught sight of it and it made her stomach turn.

"S-Sasuke, please." She shut her eyes, breathing heavily. This wasn't happening. How much nerve did he have? He'd scared her away and now he was here to hear about it?

"Why?" Sasuke gritted his teeth, staring at her so deeply that she thought she would break into pieces under his gaze.

"I… I was afraid!" She cried, taking a swift step back.

"Of what?" He growled.

"You!" She spat, covering her face briefly. It was so flushed, her lips were throbbing and her eyes felt strained beyond their abilities. The heat rushed all over her body and spilled out through her mouth. "You… you have _blood all over you_… all over the walls, I mean – you haven't been yourself at all and I… I'm sorry but this, _this_ is just... I don't know…" She groaned. She had her bravery and she lost it, either way she was proud that it even came about.

Sasuke paused for a moment just to think over everything she just said. It was a lot to take in, though not something he didn't already know. Acknowledging all of this previously was his only purpose for coming – that and the itching, burning idea that if he didn't he'd likely lose something he cared for.

With no words being said, he took a step closer to Hinata. She flinched in terror, her eyes as wide as dinner plates watching his every move. Sasuke bent over, wrapping his arms around the girl's hips. It amused him generously to feel her shake furiously in his arms. With one step over, he plopped her down on top of her bed just before taking his seat next to her. He felt the texture of her down comforter with the tiny pink threads just a bit frayed. It had been years and she still had the same blankets. He always did admire her simplicity.

"They had some type of torture device." Sasuke squinted and exhaled, trying to recollect the harsh and jagged memories of the past. "It was like – there was a long corridor with prison cells on each side. Towards the front there was a platform on the floor that was all metal. You'd think nothing of it at first. Then they let you out of your cell just for a second, close off the back end with a wall of chains, or something. You'd run forward, trying to get away, just trying to see… outside for a second, like you have a chance of getting out of there." He swallowed through labored breaths. "Then they'd put down another wall and before you know it, you're boxed in. _He _laughs. He's not there but you just know – _he's _there. Then one of those… drones pulls a lever on the wall and it _shocks_ you."

Hinata flinched.

"It shocks you in a way that I… can't describe." He looked up at the ceiling, fighting the emotions boiling inside of him. "The floor shocks you to your bones. It feels like your… skin is being burned off from the inside. And they keep going and going and going – but not enough to kill you, not yet."

She didn't know what she could say to comfort him. So she just sat there stupidly. Anything was better than opening her mouth and releasing something she'd regret.

"So I gave myself to him _again_. I still surrendered." He murmured seemingly to himself. "How long will it be, Hinata – until I give myself to him again?"

"Sasuke-"

"When I led under him… I ate anything I desired, I could have had any woman I wanted, I had someone to do everything for me, I had anything I wanted that was possible to obtain. So why would I ever want to leave?" He went on.

Hinata's heart pounded in hopes, somewhere, that he'd be talking to her, about her, connecting his heart with hers.

"I just didn't want to fight anymore." He turned his head, looking at her with those gray, lifeless eyes. They were so listless, reflecting the pain only years of inner turmoil could bring. "Yet, all I can think about is fighting – defeating _him_. It's driving me insane."

The clock on the wall ticked away. Hinata's eyes dripped but she couldn't look away. She was staring into the portrait of pain.

"I didn't sleep last night. I laid awake, trying to keep myself from coming here." He said, slowly scooting his hand a bit closer to hers on the bed and stroking it with two of his fingers thoughtfully. "When I was there… I would go to this place in my mind where everything was the way I wanted, I told myself that's where I would be when I got out. It gave me a reason to fight for my existence; it's what separated me from them."

"Yes?" Hinata slid her hand closer to him so that her fist was not under his palm. She wanted him to go on; she wanted to know all of it.

"You were there." He spoke. "You were… all of it."

"Sasuke… I… I'm not sure what you're saying."

"I still go there." He whispered, bringing himself closer to her. "But since you won't stay there, I have to come to you."

Hinata blushed. This was… happening. She could smell his breath, feel his breath, she was tantalized by it. He was so close, so very close. Her heart pounded inside her chest. It was all coming together so… perfectly.

"Your skin is so soft." He breathed, stroking the side of her face with his palm then moving a few strands of stray hair out of the way. "So fare."

Hinata swallowed nervously. "Sasuke." She whispered, placing her other hand over his as it caressed her cheek sweetly.

Her lips trembled in the most adorable way. He told himself he wouldn't do this again.

Sasuke pressed his lips to Hinata's in the most pleasant and genuine way. He felt them shake against his for just a second before they calmed and conformed to the movement of his. Her eyes were open, his eyes were open, and they stared at each other fondly. Just another second passed and Hinata's eyes fluttered closed. Yes, for her third kiss ever, that felt more natural.

Sasuke, once again, fought the urge to do the same. He wasn't so sappy. A kiss felt the same whether or not his eyes were closed. However, it didn't take long before his were closed as well. He indulged in her, nothing was forbidden. Now he could freely taste her perfection and know that unequivocally, her innocence and radiance was real. She was like a precious pearl; a flawless, shining beauty.

Ten seconds later Sasuke pulled himself from her. He could only indulge so much without the guilt he was ashamed to have forcing him to give attention to their setting. When they opened their eyes, simultaneously at that, Hinata blushed. How was she to recover from that? She'd have to learn eventually. Now she was petrified in fear of a different kind.

Last time Sasuke kissed her, long ago it was, it was followed by a certain unmatched coldness. He pushed her away crudely, dismissing the affair as meaningless, and refrained from speaking to her for a little over a week. To her surprise, Sasuke took her face within his hands and stroked the sides passionately. He then smiled halfheartedly and touched their foreheads together so that their eyes matched levels and their noses brushed lightly. There was nothing more satisfying than that, than being that close, than being able to be that close.

He was lost in it.

* * *

Prayer for Sandy Hook Elementary and Newtown, Connecticut.


End file.
